Nonsense in Oxford

Edward Lear's 200th Birthday exhibition at the Ashmolean was, to be honest, a bit of a disappointment. Not enough Nonsense! But then, the whole point was to show his wonderful illustrations of birds, which are breathtaking in their detail. I just wish there had been more of them. I was much less taken by his landscapes of Italy and Egypt (sketches, water colours and oils) as they are all a bit "Victorian Romanticism of the Orient" for me (see also Roberts, Holman Hunt, Dadd etc.) That's my fault though, not Lear's. He is a product of his time after all and had not read Said. However there is one brilliant oil of an eviscerated tower, which has given me ideas.



I'd have welcomed much more Nonsense as there was precious little of the Owl and Pussycat and those bad Limericks, although hilariously a pin board was provided for visitors to write their own, with the same mixed results. This is not a poetic form that I ever want to dabble in. Someone remind me of that if ever I do.

Hurry if you want to take a peek, it's all over on 6 January. Also, if you want to see the brilliant Pre-Raphaelite paintings you're in for a disappointment as most of the best ones, especially the large canvases by Holman Hunt, Millais and Rosetti, and the Burne-Jones painted wardrobe are all in Tate Britain for a special exhibition, which I toyed with attending until I realised I'd be paying £14 to look at paintings from both museums I can see for nothing any other time.

http://www.ashmolean.org/exhibitions/

Jenny Saville, Modern Art, Oxford

I remembered her vast fleshy canvasses from Sensation in the late 90s, so it was fascinating to see how her work has matured. Still vast, still fleshy. The wateriness of the eyes struck me especially today. New work includes movement drawings of mother and client directly referencing da Vinci and others. There are two of these drawings hung in the Renaissance galleries in the Ashmolean as well this summer. Great idea and we enjoyed those two and the sort of mini art trail through Oxford to see them.

Terrific stuff and I am so glad we made the effort to get there today.  My personal favourite was the central panel from her Atonement studies, a self-portrait as a blind woman, the eyes liquid like moonstone. Unbelievably it's her first solo show. Brilliant and free. Go soon, it's on until 16 September.

Mexican Poets Tour

I heard their reading at Exeter College last week and fell for the very seductive poetry of Coral Bracho. I have very little and very rusty Spanish but sometimes that doesn't spoil one's enjoyment of the sound of poetry, which is in part what it is all about. Luckily translation was at hand. Coincidentally a poem of her's is in the current edition of Poetry Review. Enjoy it.

Oxford Poetry Professor

I'm backing Michael Horovitz, not that I have a vote, I just wanted to beat my drum in his direction. Bon chance.

Carol Ann Duffy at Oxford

Carol Ann Duffy read at Oxford University last night and it was a stunning reading. She read some well known poems from The World's Wife (Mrs Midas, Mrs Faust, Mrs Tireseus) and a clutch of unpublished poems, often featuring bees, an environmental concern that is finding its way into her peotry at present, as well as a number of recent poems that have appeared in the press (John Barleycorn, Atlas). Her reading struck the difficult balance between wit and seriousness, speed and pacing perfectly and was a masterclass in how to do a reading well. 'A snowball wept in my hands' from a poem on the death of her mother says it all - what a star. It was a priviledge to be there.

The Glass Menagerie

At the Oxford Playhouse with Imogen Stubbs as the mother. It's been a very long time since I've seen this play and I'd forgotten how striking it is. Good timing to revive a play set in the Depression - no accident I'm sure. Imaginative set too with use of film footage at various key points. If it's on tour, go an see it, but obviously not if you want a barrel of laughs or are in anyway feeling miserable.

Oxford University - New Tutor

and that will be me. I will be teaching poetry on the undergraduate diploma in creative writing next academic year - very exciting.