All-Important Questions
November 20, 2011
Every so often, we hit those defining moments where we ask ourselves the all-important questions. … More All-Important Questions
Tag: Privacy
Marvell, Glass, and ‘Upon Appleton House’
August 26, 2011
Ekphrasis becomes a common feature of Marvell’s Interregnum writing, but before it served his Cromwellian verse, these perspective features – of viewing and reflection, of the viewer and beyond – combine in a remarkable way in Marvell’s Upon Appleton House. … More Marvell, Glass, and ‘Upon Appleton House’
Behind Closed Doors
August 19, 2011
A brief comparison of ‘Sestina’ by Elizabeth Bishop and ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ by Robert Browning: two tragedies behind closed doors. … More Behind Closed Doors
Media Revolutions and “Friends”
August 1, 2011
A few concerned observations on what media revolutions in the 1640s and 2000s mean for ‘friendship’. … More Media Revolutions and “Friends”
‘To His Coy Mistress’? To Her Coy Master
July 18, 2011
A poem of inexperience gone wrong, or experience writ large? Thoughts on Andrew Marvell’s ‘seduction’ poem, ‘To His Coy Mistress’. … More ‘To His Coy Mistress’? To Her Coy Master
Virtual Public, Virtual Private, and Immeasurable Distances
July 6, 2011
A sombre weekend is sometimes really useful and sometimes really difficult. I listened to ethereal soundscapes as the sun slowly ebbed away. I made tea and watched words blend upon its surface. It’s the kind of combination that can fuel anything… … More Virtual Public, Virtual Private, and Immeasurable Distances
Music: Between Minds, Between Friends
June 26, 2011
So console myself of a difficult anniversary, I have turned to the virtues of music, setting myself a challenge to select songs for friends that reflected how I see them. … More Music: Between Minds, Between Friends
“Finders Keepers, holder Seekers hidden Secrets”: Writing in Cryptics
May 29, 2011
Most of us are guilty at some point of writing in cryptics. Why do we do it? Why express ourselves in terms that are not meant to be understood? Is it, perhaps, a deep subconscious desire to be public with our privacy? Is it more about reaching out, or being reached out to? A few thoughts on why we so often seek to tangle rather than untangle. … More “Finders Keepers, holder Seekers hidden Secrets”: Writing in Cryptics
Brands of Solitude: Poets and their Nature
May 19, 2011
A short comparison of Andrew Marvell’s ‘The Garden’ and Christina Rossetti’s ‘In the Willow Shade’. … More Brands of Solitude: Poets and their Nature
A Vote of No: Social Media and Sacrifices
May 7, 2011
Regular users of social media networks will no doubt have noticed – if their friends lists are anything like mine – that politics is again becoming a very public sport. Yesterday, a referendum was held on whether to adopt the ‘Alternative Vote’ system, turning social networking sites into moral and ideological crusades. … More A Vote of No: Social Media and Sacrifices
Writing Privacy 