Caroline’s ‘Woman Cave’ 2018 (Episode the First)

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Welcome to my 2018 woman cave.

Of course every New Year is full of Reading bliss. Among my reading will be books from the 46 Books by women of colour due for publication in 2018 list (thank you Ellen, for sharing this).

https://electricliterature.com/46-books-by-women-of-color-to-read-in-2018-70a0bf...

I will dip into the American Author Challenge (Mark), the Irish Author Challenge (Paul) and try and do better with the Non- Fiction Challenge (Suz) (if you accept I don’t necessarily read them on the assigned month, I probably completed the latter last year, as half my reading was non-fiction).

Last year’s stats:

94 books read (23,492 pages):

44 NF (23 Male Writers/21 Female Writers)
38 F (20 female writers/18 male writers)
11 Poetry (7 female/4 male writers)

26 ROOT reads. That has to more than double next year, still buying too many books!

I read one book this year that had been on the shelf, unread, for 32 years!

If I’m allowed only 2 Fiction and 2 Non-Fiction as BEST from 2017, hard choice, it would be:

Novels:
A Gentleman in Moscow (Amor Towles) ****1/2
Homegoing (Yaa Gyasi) *****

I love Essays:
The World-Ending Fire: The Essential Wendell Berry *****
Hope in the Dark (Rebecca Solnit) (Essays) *****

The longer list is at the end of Last year’s thread:>

https://www.librarything.com/topic/260409

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I’m not much into music as background noise, I like silence, so I’m going to try and make some more time for music this year.

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Artist for this thread is Maggi Hambling

This is her poignant portrait of Derek Jarman.


By Paul Stuart (Internet image)

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Prospect House (Getty image)

I have hundreds of heroes and heroines - life mentors if you like. Derek Jarman has been in my life since his film ‘Caravaggio’ (1986)

Nigel Terry as Caravaggio (Internet image)

- which then led me to the artist himself, and many a happy holiday pilgrimage.

Jarman was an auteur and worked in many creative fields. He was a film maker, writer, artist, gardener, raconteur and lover of life.

I really must visit Prospect Cottage in Dungeness this year.

By Maggi Hambling (Internet image)

Currently Reading

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness (Araundhatti Roy)
Kintsugi (Tomás Navarro)

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Albion (Peter Ackroyd)
Love of Country: A Hebridean Journey (Madeline Bunting

The Odyssey (Homer, trans Emily Wilson, first female translator)

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Books Read in 2018

Fiction

The Body in the Library (Agatha Christie) ***1/2
Sing, Unburied, Sing (Jesmyn Ward) ****
Nemisis (Agatha Christie) ***1/2
A Pocket Full of Rye (Agatha Christie) ***
From the Heart (Susan Hill) ****
4.50 From Paddington (Agatha Christie) ***
The Woman in Blue (Elly Griffiths) ***1/2
Demian (Herman Hesse)***
The Beginning of Spring Penelope Fitzgerald ***
Strangers (Anita Brookner) (LL) ***1/2
The Guernsey Literary. And Potato Peel Pie Society (Mary Ann Shaffer) (3rd reread) ****1/2
The Cemetery in Barnes (Gabriel Josipovici) ***1/3
A View of the Harbour (Elizabeth Taylor) (reread) ****1/2
The Newton Letter (John Banville) (reread) ****
White Houses (Amy Bloom) ****1/2
Remarkable Creatures (Tracy Chevalier) (reread) ****
The Waves (Virginia Woolf) (reread) ****1/2

Non-Fiction

The Lost Words (Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris) *****
The 4 Pillar Plan (Dr Rangan Chatterjee) *****
In the Darkroom (Susan Faludi) ****
Kenneth Clark: Life, Art, Civilisation (James Stourton) ****1/2
The Power of Now (Eckhart Tolle) ***1/2
The River of Consciousness (Oliver Sacks) ****
Appointment in Arezzo: A Friendship with Muriel Spark (Alan Taylor) (02/03/18) (173/3,754) ****
The Staircase Letters (Arthur Motyer/Elmer Gerwin/Carol Shields) ****
No Time to Spare (Ursula K. Guin) (Essays) ****
Packing My Library (Alberto Manguel) ****
A Room of One's Own (Virginia Woolf) (reread) *****
The Little Book of Feminist Saints (Julia Pierpont) ***1/2
If this is a man (Primo Levy) (reread) *****
The Three Lives of Dylan Thomas (Hilly James) ****
The Salt Path (Raynor Winn) ****

Poetry

New Collected Poems: Wendell Berry ****
Anecdotal Evidence (Wendy Cope) ***1/2
Wade in the Water (Tracey K Smith) (Poetry) ****

Total: 35

Pages: 7,943

^I hope you have a great year with the books, Caroline! Hooray for Slouching Toward Bethlehem.

Happy reading in 2018, Caroline!
Thanks for sharing Maggi Hambling's work on your thread, I like >6 Caroline_McElwee: it is intriguing!

Good to see you in here Paul and Anita.

>10 FAMeulstee: I love both her figurative and abstract work, and she is a sculptor too Anita.

Robert McCrum’s choice of Best 100 non-fiction books in the English language.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/dec/31/the-100-best-nonfiction-books-of-a...

I have read 8, and have another 26 on the shelves, so maybe I’ll read a few from the list this year.

Hope you have a great year of reading!

Hello! Happy New Year have a *.

Thanks Lori and Bryony. I hope you have good 2018’s too.

Happy 2018, Caroline!

Are you enjoying Emily Wilson's Odyssey?

Still on the introduction at the minute Joe.

Welcome back!

Wow, looks like some great reading going on already for you in the new year, Caroline! I hope you have a great one!

I skipped the intro, figuring I'd go back to it. Is it worthwhile?

Good to see you peak round the door Jim and Stasia.

>20 jnwelch: I’m really enjoying it Joe. As it is the first time I’ve read The Odyssey I thought it would be useful. And a good reminder that we don’t know for sure whether Homer is one or a multitude of creators. Whether the scribe or the originator, whether solely based on tales from oral traditions or not. Even whether male or female.

Here's to a happy, bookish 2018!

>21 Caroline_McElwee: OK, I'll make a point of reading the intro, Caroline, thanks. You started with a topnotch translation, as far as I can tell.

>22Thanks Lsura, I hope it’s a good one for you too.

>23 jnwelch: That’s good to hear Joe. I’ve been distracted by Agatha Christie today, but hope to finish the introduction tomorrow.

Happy New Year, Caroline. I hope you have a great year of reading.

Hi Beth, good to see you here. Hope it’s a good year for you too.

1. The Body in the Library (Agatha Christie) ***1/2



I think this was an RD recommendation. Perfect Winter reading, and I didn’t guess the denouement. Can’t beat Agatha for entertainment value. Of its time, in regard to its characters, but that may be one of it’s strengths. Were she writing now, her characters would be very different.

It has to be added that I can’t now read a Miss Marple without hearing the wonderful Joan Hickson’s voice, and seeing her as Marple in my minds eye.

>27 Caroline_McElwee: Miss Marple to start off the year sounds like a pretty good way to do it!

Happy reading for 2018, Caro! I love your first photo.

Happy New Year. Just dropping breadcrumbs....

>28 thornton37814: It was Lori, I really enjoyed it. I think I’ll add a few more AC books into the mix this year.

>29 tiffin: Hi Tui, yes as soon as I saw that photo I was imagining being curled up there with a book or six.

>30 NanaCC: Good to see your crumbs Colleen.

Happy New Year
Happy New Group here
This place is full of friends
I hope it never ends
It brew of erudition and good cheer.

I was sure that I had posted here already Caroline, but I am getting old!

Thanks Paul. I still have to finish my rounds of new threads too. Time, time...

Couldn’t wait any longer to get to The Odyssey, and I’m really enjoying it. Not far in, but I’ll take another bite out of it later (I’ll read a bit of the introduction each day). I agree Joe, it’s a page-turner.

I'm always interested in your reading, Caro. I don't always get over here. I'm going to see how I do using LT "starred" threads shortcut (I am maybe the last person on LT to start using it and "your groups"...etc. I still do what we did when we all came on LT in '06, and I feel that in groups like Club Read, I might miss some really interesting new person that comes along if I don't go to the group page.

I love the Hambling image at the top of your thread!

Love to see you about Lois. It is sometimes hard to keep up with as many threads as one would like I agree. I star some threads then at quieter times on those threads, I take a peek back at the group to graze in other threads.

>34 Caroline_McElwee: I agree Joe, it’s a page-turner. Right, Caroline? I'm thinking I may have to break away from it for the Nicholas Nickleby group read, but I don't want to. Maybe I'll just put off NN a little longer.

I'm so glad you enjoyed The Body in the Library. Classic Agatha. Joan Hickson narrates the Miss Marple I'm listening to, The Tuesday Club Murders, aka The Thirteen Problems. Miss Marple, knitting in her chair, outsleuths and outwits everyone else in a detective's club in 13 connected stories. One of my faves of hers.

Hmm, JH Reading the audio, now there’s a thought. I don’t do audio often, but I’m tempted by that Joe.

I’ve had to set The Odyssey aside as I’m away from home for a few days, and not likely to have much reading time, but will enjoy getting back to it. I see on your thread you have decided to postpone starting NN.

>27 Caroline_McElwee: that is one of my favourites. My favourtie Miss Marple book is A Pocket full of rye.

Hi Bryony, I’ll add that to my list. I’m going to read one a month I think.

>38 Caroline_McElwee: I gave up, Caroline, as I saw the Nicholas Nickleby GR train starting to pull way far away from me. I stopped reading The Odyssey and picked up NN. (I did get my other Group Read, God Stalk finished).

I left poor Odysseus blown back to the island he'd just left, after his crewmen opened the bag of wind to search it for jewels and such. At least I've read the story a couple of times before. But I can't wait to get back to it.

I will say, I'm thoroughly enjoying Nicholas Nickleby so far.

I’ve just got back to The Odyssey after a few days break Joe, so I’m hoping to take some big bites today and tomorrow, I’ve a way to go, but I’m enjoying it a lot.

Hi thanks for the vote. Surprise second vote. There was a tie.

I went to see ‘Hostiles’ today, which I thought a fine movie. I miss westerns, I grew up on them, not least the many series, though I acknowledge I’d probably find some of them more distasteful now.

I’m sitting in the reading room of the London Library, having extracted a couple of Agatha’s from the stacks.

I love reading Agatha Christie. I look at her books as a kind of palate cleanser. I just finished The Moving Finger, which I hadn’t read before. It won’t be a favorite, but it was quite enjoyable.

2. Sing, Unburied, Sing (Jesmyn Ward) ****

In many ways quite an extraordinary novel, but I had mixed feelings about it as I read it. I was really engaged in the retrospective story told mostly by Pop and Richie, but the contemporary story in which it was couched frustrated me. The child’s endless grizzling and moaning seemed to be there only to flag JoJo’s compassion. The character of Misty could have been excised as Leonie didn’t need her, and she was barely two-dimensional. Leonie and Michael were not sympathetic characters, if Leonie at least came from a loving but poor background, it was no guarantee that she would herself be a good mother.

So what makes it an extraordinary novel? The fact that Jesmyn wrote characters I sometime wanted to slap, they were so real. She made no excuses for them. Some of them were in many respects two-dimensional people, they hadn’t had the opportunity to grow the extra dimension. I also was left wanting to know if JoJo goes on to something richer, as he was the primary observer.

>45 Caroline_McElwee: Ooo, nice Agathas!

I'm going to have to read an ER book before I get back to The Odyssey, Caroline. I'm chomping at the bit!

>45 Caroline_McElwee: Ooh! Are they doing anything for the #vote100 anniversary, do you know? A bookish event would be wonderful...

>45 Caroline_McElwee: Hi Caroline. World Book Club released an Agatha Christie podcast a few days ago. The guests discuss her life and work and she drops in via audio clips.

>49 charl08: I’ll have to check and let you know Charlotte.

>50 bkinetic: thanks Lyle, I’ll enjoy that.

>44 Caroline_McElwee: Glad to get your thoughts on this one as I have been thinking about going to see it.

Hi Erik. Good to see you over here.

>47 Caroline_McElwee: review added.

3. Nemesis (Agatha Christie) ***1/2



Another intriguing romp with Dame Agatha.

Time to get back to The Odyssey again, and to start Shikasta for my RL reading group. I might sneak another Christie in before though.

I went to see



An extraordinary film. Strong performances, thought provoking, with a teaspoon of dark humour.

>48 jnwelch: Somehow I missed you up there Joe. I’m really enjoying the Agatha’s, but they are distracting me from The Odyssey which I am enjoying, but is a bit heavy to tote about.

4. A Pocket Full of Rye (Agatha Christie) ***



Another enjoyable read, but not enough Marple. She appears briefly half way through, then disappears pretty much til the last quarter.

5. From The Heart (Susan Hill) ****



A short, poignant coming of age novel set on the 1950s. I didn’t guess the outcome until five pages from the end.

Another Maggi Hambling

I enjoyed ‘The Darkest Hour’ but it was well trodden territory. Gary Oldman gave a fine performance.

Current reading here

https://www.librarything.com/topic/279761#6306060

6. The Lost Words (Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris) *****



A beautiful book of Macfarlane acrostic ‘spells’ married with Morris’s exquisite illustrations, vibrant in their susurrus of words and colour.

>64 Caroline_McElwee: I love these illustrations and that book cover. Lovely. I may have to request that title.

Happy Sunday, Caroline. I am enjoying your film mini-reviews. I want to to see Three Billboards, (I am a big McDormand fan) and The Darkest Hour. My three favorite of last year, at the moment anyway, are Lady Bird, Get Out and Mudbound. I also really enjoyed Call Me By Your Name and A Ghost Story. Have you seen any of those?

Hi, Caroline. >64 Caroline_McElwee: looks like a beaut!

I'm back to The Odyssey. Jeez, I love the speed and style she brings to this. They just ticked off Helios, the idiots. How many warnings are ignored in this, I wonder. A lot.

>65 msf59: ‘Lady Bird’ is on my list, due out here next week I think Mark. I’ll keep an eye for the others. We seem to get everything about a month after you.

>66 jnwelch: they can be a bit dumb at times Joe, I agree. I’ve had to set it aside to read Shikasta for my real book group, and I’m still on my Miss Marple binge. But I always drop back into it easily.

The Lost Words is a beaut.

>64 Caroline_McElwee: I have been looking at that one since I finished The Old Ways. I think your review is pushing me over the edge.

I bought it for four friends for Christmas Erik, and they all loved it.

>64 Caroline_McElwee: "susurrus" - what a lovely word! Beautiful pictures too.

7. The 4.50 from Paddington (Agatha Christie) ***



Enjoyed, but not the best of them.

>64 Caroline_McElwee: WOW, how beautiful!

Hi Anita, good to see you about. It is a lovely book.

>70 VivienneR: Hi Vivienne. Are you running a reading thread this year?

I really want to see Three Billboards!!!

>64 Caroline_McElwee: That looks absolutely beautiful!

>74 Caroline_McElwee: Only have a thread at the Category Challenge group, but I might be a late starter at Club Read. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed last year, trying to keep up with everybody.

>75 EBT1002: its a fine movie Ellen.

>76 VivienneR: aaah, thats why I couldn't find you Vivienne.

I finally got to



Which I enjoyed. Poignant to see Carrie Fisher’s last performance which as her character doesnt die, I assume will run over into the next movie.



I did enjoy all the critters.

8. The Woman In Blue (Elly Griffiths) ***1/2



Total: 8

Pages: 1,908

My sister has been trying to get me to read an Elly Griffiths novel for a while, so finally I caved, and I really enjoyed it. I wouldn't call it complex plotting, probably more 'crowded', but the characters engaged and the conclusion made sense and left repercussions. I shall look forward to revisiting the characters, I think there are 9 in this series, and I have two others on my Kindle.

>60 Caroline_McElwee: Caroline, From the Heart sounds good. Thanks for you review. It is now on the tbr pile. We haven't been to the movies in a long time. Those you saw this month look very tempting.

>79 Caroline_McElwee: I have yet to read a Ruth Galloway mystery from Griffiths but I loved the Magic Men mysteries. I'm looking forward to this series.

>64 Caroline_McElwee: Beautiful

>79 Caroline_McElwee: I haven't read anything by Ellie Griffiths, but Vivienne added her to my radar just recently, and here you are. So it must mean I should add something to my wishlist.

>79 Caroline_McElwee: I really like Ruth, she is such a compelling character. I had to take a break though, as it got a bit like Morse (really another murder? I always thought Norfolk was such a sleepy place...)

>81 VivienneR: >83 NanaCC: >84 charl08: Hi Vvienne, Coleen and Charlotte. I shall pace myself, as I do with other series. Ha yes, don't want to live in Oxford, Midsomer or Norfolk me thinks.

A good read. Less visceral than say, Val McDermid's Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series, which I also like, and which is more psychological too, as Tony is a profiler.

>82 The_Hibernator: it really is gorgeous Rachel. A nce marriage of two talents as well.

Hi, Caroline.

I did finish The Odyssey, and I loved it. Thank you for convincing me to read the introduction - I read the notes, that, and the translator's note after finishing the story, and got a lot out of them. I was impressed with how much research and thought went into her translation. It's now my favorite among three good ones (Fagles, Lombardo and now Emily Wilson's).

I'm wanting to write a review of it, but that's no simple project. We'll see.

Yay, great news on all fronts Joe. Oh good, you write the review, and I can link to yours ha! What are friends for?

I hope to finish it next week.

9. The 4 Pillar Plan (Dr Rangan Chatterjee) *****



The four 'Pillars' are Rest/Eat/Move/Sleep.

I challenge anyone not to find some small behavioural change in this book, that doesnt improve their health. I have already been doing versions of many of the interventions included here, but I've learned how I might make some of them more effective, and I've seen weak areas where I thought I had strengths (as a pescatarian, but mostly vegetarian, I still don't eat quite enough vegetables, for example).

I've also learned more about how my body functions, and WHY certain changes will be beneficial. He debunks some of the standard 'rules' and offers better alternatives, whilst not expecting perfection, the lives the majority of us lead obstruct this, his 'progressive medicine' is an enabler if you are seeking to improve your daily health and longevity.

What changes do I plan to start with?

* getting more natural light in the morning (which will mean extra walking, as I don't have a garden I can just step out into), so improving 2 pillars.

* raising and sleeping to set hours (this happens by default when I'm working, but is more chaotic when I'm not).

* five vegetables a day plus two fruits (rather than the previously recommended five fruit or veg)

Otherwise I'm doing quite a lot of the other advice already, but now understand better why it is good for me.

Happy Sunday, Caroline. Trying to play catch on many neglected threads. Not an easy task, after a week.

I hope all is well with you and that you are enjoying those current reads. And thanks for keeping my thread warm, while I was away.

>88 Caroline_McElwee: I’m going to check this one out. I definitely need to change some things.

>71 Caroline_McElwee: enjoyed that Marple when I read it but yes there are better ones.

I hope you are good and just so you know there is a vote going on over on my thread.

>88 Caroline_McElwee: Since you recommended this on my thread I actually went and bought this on Saturday, as I think there's a lot more I could be doing to reduce stress and improve health. One of the ideas I really liked was the 15 minutes to yourself everyday - that's something that I really need to function properly and at the moment I'm not getting.

I hope you'll find something useful in it Rhian.

Hi Mark, Coleen and Bryony.

Cultural double bill yesterday. Headed to the Portrait Gallery to see the lovely Cezanne Portraits exhibition.

My favourite was this one of his father:





I decided to take out an annual membership as I usually go to most of the exhibitions, but it means you can go back as often as you like without extra cost to each one.

Then in the evening on to the theatre.



Doubly intriguing as even the actresses don't know which role they will be playing, as they toss a coin on the stage to decide. Lia Williams played Mary and Juliet Stevenson was Elizabeth last night. Fine production.

Hi, Just so you know the Vote on my thread was tied, so please go vote again. Thanks.

>94 Caroline_McElwee: Lovely portraits by Cezanne, Caroline, smart you took an annual membership. Some exhibitions get better by visiting more times.

We took a "museumjaarkaart" (museumyearcard) in Januari, so we can visit most museums in our country for free, there is only a small extra fee if there is a special exhibit.

I went to see



I thought it interesting, with fine performances. Reynolds is a manipulative man. Exquisite couteur, but an odd choice of movie for Daniel Day Lewis to retire on, I thought.

>94 Caroline_McElwee: Great looking exhibit. I would love to see it.

>97 Caroline_McElwee: an odd choice of movie for Daniel Day Lewis to retire on

I agree! Although he was amazing in the role of Reynolds, the film as a whole wasn't as strong as I expected it to be.

>98 Oberon: I'm going to squeeze another quick visit in tomorrow Erik, as it closes Sunday. It was very busy on Monday, but there are a few pieces I'd like another look at.

>99 lauralkeet: I don't think I've seen him give a dud performance Laura, and am lucky enough to have seen him a lot on stage in his earlier career, so I guess I hope for something blow away for his curtain call, 'Lincoln' standard perhaps.

My culture vulture week continued with



which of course was heartbreaking. The three part BBC series split between home and the trenches, whereas this film stuck with the claustrophobia and mud of the trenches. Fine performances.

We're going to see Phantom Thread at the end of the month, Caroline, as part of a marathon of watching the Oscar-nominated movies. It does seem like an odd choice for his last one. I'll report back.

I don't know Journey's End - WWI?

Yes, WWI Joe.

I'll keep an eye out for it.

>79 Caroline_McElwee: I rather enjoy the Ruth Galloway series, Caroline. It's not super complex, as you say, but I like the setting and some of the nuances of the characters' relationships with one another.

>100 Caroline_McElwee: Ill be watching for that, as well.

10. In the Darkroom (Susan Faludi) ****



Phew. I have very mixed views about this book. On the one hand it is fascinating, but on the other, the subject, Faludi's father, is a very unpleasant character. He was an unpleasant man, and is a no less an unpleasant woman.

It is the first book I have read about a transgender life, and although I suspect it reflects similar lives of this age-group perhaps, it may be quite different for younger transgender travellers.

What I found with Faludi's father is that the woman he wanted to be is actually a male construct of a woman. He wanted to be a 1950s house-frau, admired by men, having doors opened for her and DIY done for her. The bother taken out of life, no responsibility. This was a male ideal of that generation as opposed to a female desire, and existed primarily because men had the power.

As a man Faludi is macho, aggressive and an abuser (both physical and psychological), with an ego to match; as a woman she is a manipulator and an abuser (at least psychological).

After 20+ years of no contact with his daughter, in his 70s, he gets in touch with her to inform her that he has had gender reassignment and is now Stefanie, appends photographs, and after a visit from her asks her to write his/her story.

Alongside her father's biography Susan Faludi explores the state of Hungary from around the time of the First World War, and of the shifting sands in relation to its Jewish population. Her father being a Hungarian Jew.

There is the sense of an attempt to identify or interweave the complicated transgender identity with that of the Jewish nation and ante-semitism in Hungary. An outsider in more than one way. Although she says at his death she realises that there is only one thing that is truly binary, you are either alive or you are dead. I suspect many would also question that.

As someone who doesn't believe that gender is binary, but a spectrum, I'd be interested in reading other, and younger trans life stories as Faludi's story is but one story.

I would have been interested to hear Susan Faludi's feelings as a daughter about what happened to them in an afterword, but maybe she hasn't worked that out for herself yet.

Wow. I cannot imagine going through that (as the daughter).

>105 Caroline_McElwee: That sounds like a fascinating book from a credible author!

>97 Caroline_McElwee: Do you think he really will retire this time? Didn't he say that about an earlier film too?

>105 Caroline_McElwee: I have an ARC which I think they must have put out at the release of the paperback here (otherwise not sure why they did it so late, as I only got a copy fairly recently). Sounds like I should make time to read it. Re other transgender stories - I picked up George as part of a reading challenge last year to read an author who id'd as genderqueer - aimed at young people, but for me an insightful read.

I am struggling to keep up, Caroline, but am pleased to finally get the time to stop by and wish you a lovely Sunday.

I am reading Elegies by Douglas Dunn at the moment and parts of it are really heart-rending. Have you read it?

Somehow I lost track of your thread in late January, Caroline. I love that you're telling us about films you see, as well as books. I don't get much input on that realm these days. And >64 Caroline_McElwee:: Oh, my, how lovely. Just my cuppa, I think.

11. Kenneth Clark: Life, Art, Civilisation (James Stourton) ****1/2



I really enjoyed this romp through the life of art historian and polymath, Kenneth Clark. He became the Director of the National Gallery in his 30s, just before WWII broke out. He transformed access to the gallery, then when war started had the collection relocated to caves in Wales to protect it from the bombs in London. He then agreed to organise lunchtime concerts in the gallery throughout the war, and invited living artists to submit work to be displayed as the monthly picture, throughout the war. Art was for the masses, not the few, and we are still benefiting from decisions he made now. He was also responsible for the Royal collection at the same time. And worked towards setting up many art or culture based institutions that are still running, including the Arts Council and the National Theatre. Along side all this, he lectured, wrote and presented the iconic 'Civilisation' documentary series in the late 1960s, and wrote three of the finest art history books of the 20th Century.

12. The Power of Now (Eckhart Tolle) ***1/2



An interesting exploration about the mind, and how one might stop its constant chattering by focusing on the present moment. Fear and anxiety exist because people get stuck in the past, or project negative experiences into the future, when the reality is there is only the Now. Understanding this could change the mental pain people can subject themselves too. This idea has many links to what I understand the Buddhist idea of the 'non-self' aims at. I felt that certainly the early part of the book had some useful ideas, and supported other reading in recent years. The second half of the book developed some of these ideas, but also seemed to tie itself in knots a bit, and it was here that it felt like it had lost some of it's universality, as written 20 years ago, aspects of, for example, gender have moved on and the automatic male/female 'whole' no longer (if it did then) makes sense.

13. Demian (Herman Hesse) ***



Hesse's mythologised coming of age story. First published under the pen name Emile Sinclair. Well written, but as I'm not a big fan of coming of age stories I may have underrated it. I thought it captured well that young masculine transition period of the adolescent introvert. Read for my local reading group.

*******

And yesterday a double bill of films:

The Shape of Water



An interesting, nostalgic fairytale, dark but beautifully executed. Del Toro has quite an imagination. I like his work.

Black Panther



Comic heroes are not normally my bag, but the trailer for this movie peaked my interest, and I was not disappointed. I really enjoyed the ideas, characterisation, visuals, humour and performances, and can't wait for the next one. I went in the afternoon where the audience were mainly adult, with as many women as men, and all age groups and cultural backgrounds.

>106 lauralkeet: >107 EBT1002: >108 charl08: it certainly was fascinating Laura, Ellen and Charlotte, but I'd like to know more about Susan's feelings. Maybe she will write about that one day.

>108 charl08: hopefully if the right project comes along DDL will be tempted. He did retire from theatre, so may have also retired from film and been wooed back Charlotte.

>109 PaulCranswick: I don't think I've read any Douglas Dunn Paul, I'll have to put that right. I've not read a whole collection all year, I've dipped and sipped a bit.

>110 laytonwoman3rd: Good to see you in here Linda. This is the best time of year for movies in the UK, up until Easter, we get more independent films, before the blockbusters take over with the first big school holidays.

I think you would love it >64 Caroline_McElwee: Linda.

>111 Caroline_McElwee: I understood Tolle's message better when I did one of his guided meditations along with reading The Power of Now. I used: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsEfKk8trcc. As always I enjoy your reviews.

Thanks for the link Lyle, I'll take a look at that. Good to see you peek round the door.

Kenneth Clark book sounds fascinating: for the period when the National Gallery was empty alone. I love the idea that people could go somewhere so beautiful at a time of stress like the blitz and still appreciate art.

>115 charl08: I love reading about people with deep passion for what they do, and Clark had that, despite that many felt he was a bit of a cold fish in person Charlotte.

14. River of Consciousness (Oliver Sacks) ****

In a sense this collection is a summary of the work of this extraordinary polymath, signposting to his breadth of work and interests. I loved especially the pieces on Darwin, one of three of his heroes (Darwin, Freud, and William James, all fellow polymaths).

15. Appointment in Arezzo: A Friendship with Muriel Spark (Alan Taylor) ****



This short memoir about the friendship between its author and Muriel is both charming, warm and observant. Ranging over around 25 years, as well as reflecting over Muriel's life; acknowledging the capacity to know someone well, enjoyed in any long friendship, whilst also being alert to what is beyond knowing, with someone as self-contained as Spark. She was open to friendship and generous in it, but disciplined and focused on her work.

I was very lucky to hear her speak and read in 2004, at one of her final events, a couple of years before her death.

Just watched Greg Barker's documentary 'The Final Year' following in the footsteps of Obama's three closest colleagues and advisors, John Kerry, Samantha Power, and Ben Rhodes. I found it very moving. What extraordinary people they are. Their commitment to 'the Office', to Obama, and to the work is an example. And they are in for the long road, it doesn't end with the final year. Something to be optimistic about.

ETA: now available on Netflix.

>118 Caroline_McElwee: Haven't heard of this - sounds good. I'll look out for it.

>117 Caroline_McElwee: Had to return this unread to the library when someone else requested it. Will wait till it comes out in paperback I think.

(I love Muriel's red shoes on the cover of the memoir).

I had to buy it on DVD Charlotte, I don't think it made it into many cinemas here.

Currently reading

The Staircase Letters
Barkskins (Annie Proulx)
Between River and Sea (Dervla Murphy)
Distant Neighbors: Selected Letters of Wendell Berry and Gary Snyder
Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism and Progress (Steven Pinker)

I've had a week of exhibitions

All too Human at Tate Britain which was mostly the human figure, but included some cityscapes and a few still life pictures. Lucien Freud, Frances Bacon (I'm not his biggest fan), Paula Rego, and a new to me find, an Indian artist F N Sousa.

Two Saints in a Landscape


I loved this:

Amsterdam Landscape


There was work from about thirty artists.

Then on Wednesday I went to The Portrait Gallery. The new exhibition was Victorian photographers, which of course included Julia Margaret Cameron and Lewis Carroll. I was very familiar with these, as I've seen them often over the years, and because Cameron was Virginia Woolf's aunt, she is scooped up in my Bloomsbury interest.

Julia Jackson, who became Julia Stephen, VWs mother.



Then today to the British Museum with my sibs to see Living with gods

Some fascinating, often domestic, religious artefacts.

At 40,000 years old one of the first representational figures, the Lion Man.



One of our favourite pieces was this tiny 'memento mori' pendant (the picture makes it look bigger than it is, it's probably 15mm in length), made in France between 1500-1600 worn by people to remind themselves of their mortality. The exquisite craftsmanship of such a tiny piece.



And some beautiful glassware



Of course, it couldn't be helped, I had to pass the London Review of Books Bookshop on the way to the bus stop. I know you will be surprised to learn that I did cross the threshold. I bought Penelope Fitzgerald's The Beginning of Spring, and the new book from Alberto Manguel Packing My Library, not my usual fare, but I thought I'd give it a go (tongue firmly in cheek)!

Hiya, Caroline.

That Kenneth Clark book looks good. And that's definitely a key Buddhist concept in that Ekhart Tolle book. I keep hoping our friends with anxiety disorders will give meditation a go, as it helps get people in the now and bring perspective to those concerns involving the past and future.

I'm so glad you got to see and enjoy The Shape of Water and Black Panther. Did you like what our Sally Hawkins did in the former? Black Panther is drawing big audiences everywhere, and is helping change the movie landscape, isn't it. They've apparently had the second one in the works for a good while now, so hopefully we won't have to wait too long for it.

>122 Caroline_McElwee: Those F.N. Sousa paintings are intriguing, Caroline, thanks for sharing.

>122 Caroline_McElwee: Impressive portrait of Julia Jackson. It's as if she can see your soul.

I love the vicarious visits to art exhibits; thanks so much for sharing.

Love the pictures!

The gallery visits sound great Caroline. Hoping to squeeze in a visit to the slashed Valasquez in the National Gallery at the end of the month. I got to the Swynnerton exhibit in Manchester last weekend - beautiful pictures.

Ooh, art, books and movies! What a cool place to hang out. Hi, Caroline. Glad you enjoyed both The Shape of Water and Black Panther. I am a big fan of both too.

It looks like I should also watch The Final Year, since I have Netflix.

>111 Caroline_McElwee: Not familiar with Kenneth Clark but this looks like an interesting bio.

Lastly, how is Barkskins coming?

>123 jnwelch: it was a fascinating biography Joe, and wonderful we are still benefiting from his actions.

>124 FAMeulstee: I love discovering artists who are new to me Anita. There are no books about his work in print or on Amazon, but the library have two, so I will look at those tomorrow.

>125 bkinetic: it is a very haunting and intense photograph Lyle. I find much of Julia Margaret Cameron's work especially, communicates the sitter quite powerfully.

>126 laytonwoman3rd: >128 charl08: glad to take you along Linda and Colleen. I'm making the most of my last bit of free time, before the new job starts (still waiting for the start date, but assuming early April).

>128 charl08: I'm going to squeeze in the National Gallery tomorrow Charlotte, to see this exhibition:

https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/reflections-van-eyck-and...

>129 msf59: Hi Mark, good to see you stopping by. I've really enjoyed the movies I've seen this year, I have to say. I'm going to see what's on at the weekend, and maybe see something Sunday.

Typically after I bought The Final Year it turned up on Netflix. It is certainly worth your time. I was very impressed with those young people Obama drew to him, and am sure with him they will have an impressive impact in the future.

I haven't had time to take a big enough bite out of Barkskins, so a couple of shorter books have snuck in, and I'm really having a non-fiction kick at the moment. But I have a few quieter days at the beginning of next week, so may pick it up then.

I went to the National Gallery to see Reflections: Van Eyck to the Pre-Raphaelites yesterday.





The Arnolfini Portrait is supposed to be the first painting to include a mirror, painted by Van Eyck (1434). It was acquired by the National Gallery for £600 in 1842. The exhibition explores the influence it had on the artists who saw it there, especially the Pre-Raphaelites.


I am half sick of shadows, said the Lady of Shallot Sidney Meteyard

The colours in this painting were right up my street.

But one of my favourite pieces was this tiny little sketch by Arthur Studd, Self-Portrait in a round mirror


Which has a second reflection in the background. I'd steal this one.

I also ducked in to see the Degas pastels on loan from Scotland's Burrell collection.


The Jewellers Shop

Oh those are lovely Caroline. I always do the 'which one would I have on the wall' thing as I go round: which one would I steal would ramp it up a notch. (Sometimes the paintings are lovely, but where would you put them - too big. Although clearly not an issue with that beautiful drawing).

Yes Charlotte, but of course when thinking of the big pieces you are hanging them in your fantasy home, which may not be huge, but the walls are ever able to take more art and books!

>131 Caroline_McElwee: I like it when painters use reflection in their paintings, Caroline, I didn't know Van Eyk was the first.
The little sketch by Arthur Studd has something special and it reminds me a bit of the Escher selfportrait:

I'd forgotten about that Escher picture Anita, thanks. He has put all his world in the reflection, like the Studd, where other artists have used it to expand the space portrayed.

Caroline have you been watching Portrait Artist of the Year? You've just reminded me one of the artists used reflection too. Just love that programme, fascinating watching them put a portrait together.

I've missed that Charlotte, will see if I can track it down.

ETA: disappointed, it's now on Sky, it used to be one of the free view channels. Ah well.

Thank you for all the wonderful art you've posted! And the very interesting books you've been reading as well.

Thank you Judy, glad you enjoyed peeking around the door.

So behind on reviews, but I'll get to them soon. Real life has got in the way.

My lovely 90 year old dad is failing and needs more support. Old age certainly isn't for sissies.

>140 Caroline_McElwee: Sorry about your dad, Caroline.

Thanks Anita.

I'm sorry to hear about your father, Caroline. I'll say a prayer for him now.

Thanks Darryl. He's back in hospital. There are things they hope to be able to do, but no guarantees. My bro and I are staying at his place and will visit him in hospital every afternoon.

Sorry to hear about your 90 year old dad in the hospital, Caroline. Coincidentally, my 94 year old dad just went back into the hospital with an infection. It looks like he'll be okay, though. Sending positive thoughts for your dad, my friend.

Samuel McElwee 23 October 1927-1 April 2018 RIP



Beloved dad (or Pod, as we called him).

>145 jnwelch: Thanks Joe, as you will see, dad has begun a new journey now.

I hope your dad is OK, will keep him in my thoughts.

Lovely photograph Caroline. He looks like a man who had a great sense of humour. My thoughts are with you and your family.

>146 Caroline_McElwee: Everyone who sees that photo will wish they could have known him, Caroline. Peace and strength to you and your family.

>146 Caroline_McElwee: He looks like he was the most fun. My thoughts are with you and yours.

Thinking of you and your family ... I'm so sorry for your loss.

So sorry - that’s a great picture memory.

Thank you Charlotte, Linda, Laura, Laura and Jim. He was a one off, and we were very lucky to have him.

>148 charl08: >152 drneutron: it is isn't it Charlotte and Jim. He was happy to join in our Christmas madness.

Wonderful picture. The happy memories are what keep us going. Thinking of you, and I’m very sorry for your loss.

My condolences, Caroline, you posted a lovely picture of your dad.

My sincere condolences, Caroline.

Thank you Coleen and Anita. We are bursting with memories. I continued to see him every week throughout my adulthood, many hours of conversation and humour. I have a brother and sister I am close to, so we will support each other.

>156 majleavy: thank you.

>146 Caroline_McElwee:

What a strong force for Fun! - with so many memories to treasure.

So very sorry for your loss. From everything I've ever heard about him, he was a quietly extraordinary man.

Thank you m.bellj and Tui. Oh yes, he had the Celtic mischief for sure.

So sorry to hear of your loss. Your Pod sure looks like he enjoyed life.

>162 VivienneR: Every second of life Vivienne. He was self-contained (which we all inherited), happy as a family man with the friends they brought to him. Kind, fun, funny, and had great humility. He was loved by everyone who met him.

Adding my condolences, Caroline. It's never easy, no matter when. {{hugs}}

Very sorry to hear about your father Caroline.

Hi, Caroline. So sorry your dad didn’t make it. What a photo! He looks like a lively, funny guy. No surprise, given his daughter. Sending hugs, my friend.

Thank you Shelley, Erik and Joe.

>146 Caroline_McElwee: Lovely photo of your dad, Caroline.

I must say that if a photo accurately captures the nature of a man then your dad must have been wonderful company. Celtic mischief indeed. xx

Wishing you well Caroline and you will be in my thoughts and prayers more than normal.

>146 Caroline_McElwee: What a nice picture of your dad. I'm sorry for your loss.

>168 PaulCranswick: >169 figsfromthistle: Thank you both.

That picture totally sums up dad's sense of fun. He was always smiling, engaged and interested in everything that went on around him Paul. He was a most sanguine man too. I will miss him a lot. Your thoughts and prayers are gratefully received.

So sorry to hear of your loss Caroline.

Thank you Rhian.

Reading this poem the other day made me think of you Caroline. xx

Only a Dad

BY EDGAR ALBERT GUEST

Only a dad, with a tired face,
Coming home from the daily race,
Bringing little of gold or fame,
To show how well he has played the game,
But glad in his heart that his own rejoice
To see him come, and to hear his voice.

Only a dad, with a brood of four,
One of ten million men or more.
Plodding along in the daily strife,
Bearing the whips and the scorns of life,
With never a whimper of pain or hate,
For the sake of those who at home await.

Only a dad, neither rich nor proud,
Merely one of the surging crowd
Toiling, striving from day to day,
Facing whatever may come his way,
Silent, whenever the harsh condemn,
And bearing it all for the love of them.

Only a dad, but he gives his all
To smooth the way for his children small,
Doing, with courage stern and grim,
The deeds that his father did for him.
This is the line that for him I pen,
Only a dad, but the best of men.

Lovely Paul, thank you.

I'll try and catch up with reviews this week (note to self, start at 15).

Mini-Review catchup

16. No Time to Spare (Ursula K Le Guin) (Essays) ****

I'm a total sucker for literary essays, and I really enjoyed these.

17. New Collected Poems: Wendell Berry ****1/2

Some beautiful nature writing here. For me, the essays are favourite, but I really felt a deep sense of place in some of these poems.

18. The Staircase Letters (Arthur Motyer/Elmer Gerwin/Carol Shields) (11/03/18) (152/4,508) ****

A correspondence between writers in extremis, often very moving, always very inciteful.

19. Packing my Library (Alberto Manguel) ****

More literary essays. I enjoyed some of these more than others, and less than the preceding volume, but some will definitely enjoy a second reading.

20. The Beginning of Spring (Penelope Fitzgerald) ***

Set in Russia. Enjoyable, but not my favourite Fitzgerald.

21. A Room of One's Own (Virginia Woolf) (reread) *****

Probably my third reading of this wonderful book, still very relevant to the modern reader, and as one would expect, wonderful word dancing.

22. Strangers (Anita Brookner) (LL) ***1/2

Brookner still on form, even for her last novel (followed by a posthumous novella).

23. Anecdotal Evidence (Wendy Cope) ***1/2

Some very fine poems in this latest volume.

24.The Little Book of Feminist Saints (Julia Pierpont) ***1/2

Enjoyable and interesting little nuggets. Plenty of women I had not heard of, and often something I didn't know about those I had heard of.

***
I needed some trusted old favourites, and started with...

25. The Guernsey Literary. And Potato Peel Pie Society (Mary Ann Shaffer) (3rd reread) ****1/2

Still stood up to another reread. Boy how fickle the memory can be though. Loved it all over again. The film doesn't hold a candle IMO, though the casting for Dawsey and Izzy were spot on.

26.The Cemetery in Barnes (Gabriel Josipovici) ***1/3

An interesting short novel, but over hyped for me.

27. A View of the Harbour (Elizabeth Taylor) (22/04/18) (299/6,131) (read) ****1/2

Again, enjoyed sinking into another old favourite. Fifth time of reading.

28. If this is a man (Primo Levy) (reread) *****

A reread for my RL book group (not a comfort read). Always the spare, clear reportage moves. Levi refused to write about anything he hadn't seen with his own eyes. A must read for anyone interested in the human condition.

29. The Newton Letter (John Banville) (reread) ****

For the first time (6th read) it took me longer to get into this novella, but still finely written.

Hi, Caroline. Somehow, I lost your thread in the LT shuffle. I am very sorry, to hear about your loss.

Hope you had a good weekend and good luck with those reviews. I have been doing poorly at posting them too. Sighs...

Thanks Mark. Funeral Wednesday, then a week away by the sea with my sister, so time to adjust. Then I come back to start my new job on 14 May, I'm an PA/administrator in the public sector.

30. White Houses (Amy Bloom) ****1/2



A fascinating fictional peak into the lives of two women from very different backgrounds, who have to carry out their intimate lives on the edge of public glare in a different era. I've been meaning to find out about Eleanor Roosevelt for some while, after reading some quotes by her. I knew nothing of her private life and loves. One suspects that it would be impossible to keep such a relationship as quiet now. Though the facade would probably still be required.

This is one of those short novels that feels like a tome because it takes you into several territories, and has depth and thought underpinning it.

31. The Three Lives of Dylan Thomas (Hilly Janes) ****



An interesting, short waltz into the life of the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, structured around three paintings made by his friend Fred Janes (father of the author) and focusing on the small group of talented friends that Thomas was a part of.

It made me want to be a fly on the wall in their company.

A couple of BBs there, Caroline.

I also have a funeral on Wednesday. :-(

Enjoy your well-earned get-away; breathe deeply!

Sorry to hear you have lost a loved one too Shelley.

Not a relative, Caroline, but a much loved former colleague. My age. Much too young

>179 Caroline_McElwee: "An interesting, short waltz into the life of..." sounds so enticing. I'll make a note of the Hilly Janes book.

Very mini-reviews are up to date now >176 Caroline_McElwee:

>184 Caroline_McElwee: Good to hear that the Guernsey book lives up to a reread. I was a bit sad the film didn't live up to the book, but when does it ever?!

All of your reading sounds enticing, Caroline. I'm taking particular note of the Primo Levi and Elizabeth Taylor books.

>185 charl08: I can think of only two or three films that really did the books justice Charlotte. A Month in the Country, and On The Black Hill got very sympathetic treatments.

>186 jnwelch: you won't be disappointed in either Joe.

Have a wonderful weekend, Caroline!

Off to Lyme Regis for a week...


Photo by Adrian Oakes

>188 figsfromthistle: I will, you too.

>189 Caroline_McElwee: Lucky you!

>189 Caroline_McElwee: Enjoy!

>189 Caroline_McElwee:

Do you look for fossils?

The blocks laid out on the barrier are quite beautiful and intriguing.

My sister does the fossil hunting. I'm not good on the pebbles, but she has found some lovely small fossils.

I'm looking forward to the Mary Anning museum, as it was being restored last year.

Thanks Rhian and Darryl.

Lyme looks lovely Caroline - hope you have sunshine for your visit.

Several years ago, I read and LOVED Remarkable Creatures (well, listened to on audiobook which was narrated by 2 absolutely wonderful readers). I would love to visit the Mary Anning Museum! I didn't even know there was one! Enjoy your week there, Caroline.

Oh, that sounds like fun, Caroline. I loved Remarkable Creatures, too. Forgive my ignorance, but is the Lyme Regis in Persuasion the same Lyme? I've always wanted to go there and watch out for people falling off the stairs by the harbor.

Thanks Charlotte and Shelley, I loved that book too.

Yes Joe, the very same, and recognisably so too.

>179 Caroline_McElwee: I must find that biography of Dylan Thomas.

Lyme Regis is picturesque. Hope you don't bump into the French Lieutenant's Woman!

Have a lovely Sunday, Caroline. xx

I am really enjoying the Collected Poems of Michael Longley you got me. I can see why you admire him so.

32. The Salt Path (Raynor Winn) ****



Winn and her husband Moth are made homeless and loose their business, and Moth receives a devastating health diagnosis. With little else to loose they set off to walk the South West Coast Path, and find strengths and turmoil's, friends and the less friendly on the way.

A walk that is not for the faint hearted at the best of times. I enjoyed walking along with them from my chair.

That's a beautiful cover Caroline. I would like to do one of the long coastal paths - particularly the Welsh one appeals to me.

>200 PaulCranswick: I thought I was onto a winner for you with that Paul.

>202 charl08: it's not something I've craved doing Charlotte, but with pins and plates in an ankle and leg, I have to moderate walking.

The Lyme Museum was built by the Philpott Family on the site of Mary Anning's house, which was pretty much destroyed by a storm in the late 1800s.



The museum was renovated last year and is very well put together. I decided to become a friend.




Fossil cast, so the kids can actually touch it.

I hadn't realised that James McNeill Whistler had lived in Lyme for a while, as well as the glass maker Lawrence Whistler.

>189 Caroline_McElwee:

This beautiful photo seems familiar so I may have posted this previously:

Robin Brooks captures the blue walkway in her callagraph "Elements," 2016.

It's online at her website.

Mary Anning's grave



Folk leave her fossils, and children their plastic critters.



Sat at the top of a cliff overlooking the sea and read for most of the day. Beautiful.

>205 m.belljackson: Thanks, I'll take a look.

Lovely photos, Caroline. Hope you are having a relaxing time

Looks beautiful, Caroline!

Chesil beach, Portland, UK



To the Lighthouse (though not Virginia's one):



>208 jessibud2: >209 jnwelch: Thanks Shelley and Joe. It has been a lovely visit.

>118 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks for that suggestion. It sounds like something we would like to watch.

Your week looks like it has been fun and interesting. I love the fossils. And The Salt Path looks like one to add to the wish list. Feeling as I do about heights/edges, I will also enjoy reading from a chair settled securely on the earth.

Happy Friday!

The Obama film is on Netflix at the moment Ellen. I've just started watching their Robert Kennedy series.

Further to Paul, and Joe's lists, I just CAN'T choose only ten fave poets, so here is

A Baker's Dozen (13) fave poets

Rainer Maria Rilke
Mark Doty
Pablo Neruda
Ted Hughes
Michael Longley
Seamus Heaney
Dylan Thomas
T S Eliot
Anne Sexton
Carol Anne Duffy
Anna Akhmatova
Osip Mandelstam
Jorie Graham

But so hard to exclude:

W H Auden
Marin Sorescu
Tess Gallagher
Mary Oliver
Alice Oswald
Jane Kenyon
Jo Shapcott
Paul Duncan

And then there are single volumes by so many others....

>118 Caroline_McElwee:, >211 EBT1002: - I saw that film when it first came out. Amazing. My friend just saw the Robert Kennedy one and said it was excellent, too

>212 Caroline_McElwee: We have Netflix at home so I'll suggest we add this to our watch list for the coming couple of weeks. I'm still reading a lot but both P and I feel a bit overwhelmed these days so something good to watch is a bonus.

>213 Caroline_McElwee: Love the list, Caroline. 4 on your list are also on mine and a couple could have been. I am a bit suspicious of judging poetry in translated form and have therefore excluded from my own list a couple I do enjoy in translation Wislawa Szymborska and Czeslaw Milosz for two.

Have a splendid weekend. Are you still in Dorset?

Well you can only judge whether the poem in translation speaks to you Paul, unless you speak the original language. I couldn't exclude them.

I'm on the train back to London now, having had a lovely lunch at River Cottage Canteen. Annual ritual. Delicious meal.

>213 Caroline_McElwee: I like that list, Caroline. I wish I was more of a Rilke fan. I just re-read a bunch of his in a new translation, and he's still not my flavor.

I got to see both Anne Sexton and Jorie Graham read/perform their poetry. Impressive, but they don't connect with me like others such as Sharon Olds and Adrienne Rich.

I need to read more Carol Anne Duffy. and I should do the same with Jane Kenyon. I'm pretty sure you read Donald Hall's Without: Poems, involving JK, yes? What a book.

Like you, I found it hard to keep Auden and Mary Oliver of my list.

I've not read the Donald Hall's Without Joe, I'll look that up.

Poetry is such a personal thing. I've not read enough Olds to have her on my list, ditto Rich, although I have a volume or two of each. I did read Tracy K Smith's latest volume, which I liked a lot.

I think I've read all Carol Anne Duffy's work as it came out. I should reread it soon in the collected edition, and see what still holds up, and think about it as a body of work. There are, of course, fewer women with such a body of work. I want to spend some time with Elizabeth Bishop's work, I've read little, but she is held in great esteem I sense. Do you have an opinion? I read a lovely little appreciation of her by Colm Toibin, last year.

I do like Elizabeth Bishop's poetry, Caroline. One of her most famous and anthologized poems is "The Fish": https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/fish-2 What a poem!

She was very connected to Robert Lowell, and there are similarities in their styles.

P.S. Here's another really good one of hers:

One Art

By Elizabeth Bishop

The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother’s watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn’t a disaster.

—Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan’t have lied. It’s evident
the art of losing’s not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

On Thursday I went to see 'Red' by John Logan, a play about the last years of Mark Rothko's life. Fine performances from Alfred Molina and Alfred Enoch. I now want to go and look at his art with fresh eyes, and read more about him. Books are winging their way.



A few years ago I saw Logan's 'Peter and Alice' about the people who, as children, inspired iconic characters in children's books, which was thought provoking.

And today I have seen the poignant movie On Chesil Beach based on Ian McEwan's novel, and he wrote the script too.



Beautifully filmed, by Steve McQueen's cinematographer, but I agreed with one reviewer that they compromised with the end, which wasn't necessary, despite that it is in the book. Visually it sentimentalised.

See the beach in >210 Caroline_McElwee:.

>220 jnwelch: Like Both of those Joe. Shall look forward to getting to her later this year. I have poems, biography, essays and letters between she and Lowell.

>221 Caroline_McElwee: The play about Rithko sounds facinating, Caroline.
We saw a Rothko exhibition a few years back. I would love to see his chapel in Houston.

"Red" does sound good, Caroline. Rothko is one of the few abstract painters whose work I enjoy. We did get to see that chapel in Houston - it's striking.