John Donne on BBC TV

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Mike Lyle - 26 May 2009 22:09 GMT

Marius and others may like to seek out a good programme just aired as
part of BBCTV's poetry season: Simon Schama and the wonderful Fiona Shaw
on John Donne.

Milton and Beowulf follow in the next couple of days.

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Mike.

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Paul Wolff - 26 May 2009 22:27 GMT

>Marius and others may like to seek out a good programme just aired as
>part of BBCTV's poetry season: Simon Schama and the wonderful Fiona Shaw
>on John Donne.
>
>Milton and Beowulf follow in the next couple of days.

It can't have been worse than that concurrent Attenborough fossil-show
on the popular channel. Who are these Ida then? Ten minutes of interest
diluted by fifty minutes of a private audiovisual talent contest between
technicians, and five minutes of serious study wholly missing.

Talking of poetry, it seems there's a vacancy at Oxford once again. I
have a mischievous urge to go along and cast my vote for a write-in
candidate.

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Paul

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Mike Lyle - 26 May 2009 23:11 GMT

>> Marius and others may like to seek out a good programme just aired as
>> part of BBCTV's poetry season: Simon Schama and the wonderful Fiona
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> contest between technicians, and five minutes of serious study wholly
> missing.

Oh, f-f-fossils! I didn't realize it was tonight; so I suppose I should
be glad to learn it was one of those telly shows which take an hour to
tell you something you could have read in three minutes.

> Talking of poetry, it seems there's a vacancy at Oxford once again. I
> have a mischievous urge to go along and cast my vote for a write-in
> candidate.

I don't wholly share the objection to poison email about him who was
dubbed "The Beast of Boston". A very good poet, certainly; but by all
accounts the epithet was earned.

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Mike.

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Athel Cornish-Bowden - 27 May 2009 17:52 GMT

>> Talking of poetry, it seems there's a vacancy at Oxford once again. I
>> have a mischievous urge to go along and cast my vote for a write-in
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> dubbed "The Beast of Boston". A very good poet, certainly; but by all
> accounts the epithet was earned.

My neither, but I think the main objections to the poison e-mail were
that it was surreptitiously done, lied about afterwards and for
personal gain.

Has this mini-scandal driven the stuff about MPs expenses off the front
pages yet, or is it just a storm in a teacup? Talking of which, I've
been happy to see that the person who would be my MP if I still lived
in the UK (and whom I once taught when she was a student of
biochemistry) seems to be untouched by corruption (as I was previously
happy to see that she was untouched by Blairism).

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athel

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Peter Duncanson (BrE) - 27 May 2009 18:08 GMT

>>> Talking of poetry, it seems there's a vacancy at Oxford once again. I
>>> have a mischievous urge to go along and cast my vote for a write-in
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>Has this mini-scandal driven the stuff about MPs expenses off the front
>pages yet, or is it just a storm in a teacup?

It is a minor diversion.

A news item has crept on to the from page of my local morning paper. A
politician was out canvassing on behalf of a candidate in next month's
election to the EU Parliament:
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/Dissidents-blamed-for-gun-incident.5305022.jp

A MASKED man threatens to shoot an MLA out canvassing in Lurgan.

SDLP representative Dolores Kelly had an airgun pointed at her and
was told she had five minutes to leave the town's republican
Kilwilkie estate on Tuesday evening.

...I heard someone say my name and saw a young man in a balaclava,
who told me in no uncertain terms that I was to leave the area or I
would be shot.

"He had what seemed to be an air gun. He also threatened another
member of my party and pointed the gun directly at his face."

MLA: Member of the (Northern Ireland) Legislative Assembly.
SDLP: Social Democratic and Labour Party.

> Talking of which, I've
>been happy to see that the person who would be my MP if I still lived
>in the UK (and whom I once taught when she was a student of
>biochemistry) seems to be untouched by corruption (as I was previously
>happy to see that she was untouched by Blairism).

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Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)

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James Hogg - 27 May 2009 06:47 GMT

Quoth Paul Wolff <bounceme@two.wolff.co.uk>, and I quote:

>>Marius and others may like to seek out a good programme just aired as
>>part of BBCTV's poetry season: Simon Schama and the wonderful Fiona Shaw
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>have a mischievous urge to go along and cast my vote for a write-in
>candidate.

Is one allowed to vote for oneself?

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James

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Paul Wolff - 27 May 2009 09:44 GMT

>Quoth Paul Wolff <bounceme@two.wolff.co.uk>, and I quote:
>
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>
>Is one allowed to vote for oneself?

Candidates are certainly allowed to provide lunch for their supporters.

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Paul

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Pat Durkin - 26 May 2009 23:59 GMT

> Marius and others may like to seek out a good programme just aired as
> part of BBCTV's poetry season: Simon Schama and the wonderful Fiona
> Shaw on John Donne.
>
> Milton and Beowulf follow in the next couple of days.

Just a passing thought about Donne's popularity and AUE.

A college (or University) nationwide contest called "Poetry Out Loud"
announced its annual champion a week ago. The student had read Donne's
"The Flea". Too bad the news report didn't have the winning performance
on video.

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John Dean - 27 May 2009 00:55 GMT

>> Marius and others may like to seek out a good programme just aired as
>> part of BBCTV's poetry season: Simon Schama and the wonderful Fiona
>> Shaw on John Donne.

Excellent programme. Pity it had to be called "Simon Schama's John Donne" a
la "Bob Monkhouse's Golden Shot" or "Bruce Forsyth's Play Your Cards Right".
And given how personal and sexual Donne's early work is, it was a little
surprising to choose a woman to read it. Yes, she's androgynous, yes she
read it beautifully, yes she had interesting things to say in discussion but
even so ...
When we get "Simon Schama's Sylvia Plath" I don't imagine Ray Winstone will
be reading the stuff, although he could probably deliver "Daddy, daddy, you
bastard, I'm through." better than most.

>> Milton and Beowulf follow in the next couple of days.

Interesting (or not) that Donne and Milton are deemed worthy of BBC2 but the
wyrm-slayer has to be content with BBC4

> Just a passing thought about Donne's popularity and AUE.
>
> A college (or University) nationwide contest called "Poetry Out Loud"
> announced its annual champion a week ago. The student had read
> Donne's "The Flea". Too bad the news report didn't have the winning
> performance on video.

Would you settle for this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yrSGRWTOzQ

Or the BBC1 version?:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob2kqEq20G4

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John Dean
Oxford

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Pat Durkin - 27 May 2009 02:47 GMT

>>> Milton and Beowulf follow in the next couple of days.
>
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> Would you settle for this?
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yrSGRWTOzQ

I preferred the one above, the Julian Glover reading. It was more like
a reading by an actor than some of the singing tones that some poetry
readers use. Yes, even some of those reading their own lines.

> Or the BBC1 version?:
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob2kqEq20G4

Maybe I have a prejudice for English poets read with an English accent.
Or maybe the reader was just too young. Oh, another prejudice.
So if I had heard the "champion's" reading, I would probably have been
disappointed.

Thanks for the URLs.

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Discussion Groups / English Usage / May 2009

John Donne on BBC TV