Category: Books
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Carol Ann Duffy: The first woman poet laureate
Carol Ann Duffy became the first woman poet laureate today. She was considered a frontrunner for the post in 1999 following Ted Hughes’ death in October 1998. But she lost out to Andrew Motion then amid speculation that Tony Blair had decided that Middle England was not yet ready for…
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A New York minute with Billy Collins
The Singapore River isn’t the Hudson But it has a homely charm of its own, The Botanic Gardens no Central Park But a tranquil, sylvan landmark Well worth a visit or two. Life in Singapore is nothing to rue Unless you make much ado About the Straits Times Being no…
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day today
Dost thou think, because there’s something rotten inthe state of the economy, there shall be no more cakes and ale? Fie, dismiss thy fears.We shall revel today in wholesome mirth and laughter in fulsome praise of thegenius of Master Shakespeare. Sweet Bard of Avon, begetter of the finest verseand plays,…
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Shakespeare in love: The youth and the Dark Lady of the Sonnets
Shakespeare’s sonnets are the greatest love poems in English literature, says The Times. And they are mostly homoerotic, says Bill Bryson in his book, Shakespeare. That makes them all the more remarkable. For, let’s not forget, as late as 1960 Penguin Books was tried for obscenity when it published Lady…
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Shakespeare On The Double! The Bard in plain English
Shakespeare On The Double! Twelfth Night translated by Mary Ellen Snodgrass The greatest English playwright in plain English at long last! Now I can understand every word written by the Bard as long as I have a copy of Shakespeare On The Double! in my hand. Shakespeare On The Double!…
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Ballard’s terrible Shanghai in Empire Of The Sun
The Japanese committed terrible atrocities in the Second World War, as we all know, but they had no monopoly on cruelty. One has only to read JG Ballard’s Empire Of The Sun to see what a terrible city Shanghai was when it fell to the Japanese. I was going through…
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Gold ain’t what it was in Goldfinger
Gold is no longer what it used to be when Ian Fleming wrote Goldfinger or Sean Connery starred in the film with Honor Blackman playing Pussy Galore in 1964. Consider the plot: Goldfinger plans to steal the gold in Fort Knox. What’s at stake is the entire world economy. For…
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The Ascent of Money and Chiamerica
The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson The next time anyone blames Wall Street and the US Federal Reserve for the global economic downturn, throw the book at him. Not just any book but Niall Ferguson’s The Ascent of Money. This excellent, immensely readable history of banking and finance published…
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Jane Austen: Contemporary as you please
Sunday Times exaggerates when it says: “Jane Austen is not just a novelist but a cultural ideal. Her books teach us what it means to be civilised.” The elaborate courtesies and leisurely lives of her characters today have all the charm of a period drama. But Jane Austen (16 December…
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