Just Finished Reading: Woman Much Missed by Thomas Hardy [56pp] 

...and Poetry..... AGAIN. I guess that its easier to have short booklets of poems than just about anything else plus not every author produced short stories to fit in this format. To be honest I knew (indeed KNOW) so little about Hardy that I wasn't previously even aware that he wrote poetry! But here we are...  

An impressive 35 poems are crammed into less than 60 pages which is some going. Mostly, as you might imagine from the title, revolve around the loss of his first wife Emma Gifford, whom he married on 17 September 1874. When Emma died in 1912 Hardy travelled to Cornwall to re-visit places associated with their courtship and the area repeatedly comes up in his poems of that period including the mythical location of Lyonnesse which was interesting to research further. 

Not being a poetry fan, nor to be honest particularly romantic, most of the contents fell rather flat for me. A few were quite affecting (or maybe effective) in getting across a mixture of loss and fond reminiscence but generally I can't say that I enjoyed them much. In fact I did find myself skimming the last quarter of the booklet. Maybe I'll like his novels better if I ever get around to reading them? 

"The assumption that there is nothing we can do to change the world is the best way of ensuring we never do."

Mark Galeotti, The Weponisation of Everything.

Happy International Dog Day...!

Flu Season is Coming.... I've just (a few minutes ago) had a text from my local doctors to say that, because of my advanced age, I'm eligible for a NHS Flu shot this year (as I have been since hitting 65). So, I followed the link on my phone, confirmed my ID, was offered a ranged of dates and times (and a choice of locations), picked the most suitable one for me (Oct 9th) and confirmed it. Less than a second later I got a text saying that everything was confirmed - all in about 2 minutes total. Brilliant and FREE. Gotta love the NHS! 

Just Finished Reading: The Beats – A Very Short Introduction by David Sterritt (FP: 2013) [108pp] 

I've encountered 'The Beats' on many occasions over the years – in movies, cultural histories and novels - and have even read a few things by them most notably On The Road by Jack Kerouac and, more recently, a booklet of poetry by Allen Ginsberg but have never really read anything about them until now. 

My initial thought that they were essential a precursor to the 'Hippies' on the late 1960's and into the 70's wasn't too far off the mark. The Beats were certainly rebels of their post-WW2 era and talked about and practiced 'free love' and drug use (although this was pre-LSD so the drugs of choice tended to be marijuana, cocaine and heroin) as well as breaking the taboo around homosexuality. The difference in their radical outlook from the Hippies that followed in their wake was that Beatniks tended to be more inward looking and less 'revolutionary' whilst Hippies tended to be much more political and looked to change society in general. 

Naturally this slim volume concentrated its focus on the big three Beats – Kerouac, Ginsberg and William S Burroughs. I was at least familiar with the existence of these three figures and was at least somewhat acquainted with their work – in that I knew of it! The other figures mentioned in this volume were universally new to me – Neal Cassady, Gergory Corso, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Diane di Prima and Gary Snyder. Potted biographies of everyone listed certainly helped me know more about them and appreciate their impact on the Movement. 

Much like the Hippies, the Beats tended to be into everything – novels, poetry, music (especially Jazz), art and film. Despite there being only an estimated 150 published authors/poets amongst them the Beats managed to punch well above their cultural weight in part due to the backlash against their countercultural drive. The horror stories (often either made up or exaggerated – although sometimes not!) helped to cement their cool image with youths looking for something to rebel against. A fairly interesting look at an often-forgotten countercultural movement. Reasonable.  

Happy Ukraine Independence Day.....!

Happy Birthday: Achille Claude Debussy (22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer, born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Born to a family of modest means and little cultural involvement, Debussy showed enough musical talent to be admitted at the age of ten to France's leading music college, the Conservatoire de Paris. He originally studied the piano, but found his vocation in innovative composition, despite the disapproval of the Conservatoire's conservative professors. He took many years to develop his mature style, and was nearly 40 when he achieved international fame in 1902 with the only opera he completed, Pelléas et Mélisande.

Debussy's orchestral works include Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (1894), Nocturnes (1897–1899) and Images (1905–1912). His music was to a considerable extent a reaction against Wagner and the German musical tradition. He regarded the classical symphony as obsolete and sought an alternative in his "symphonic sketches", La mer (1903–1905). His piano works include sets of 24 Préludes and 12 Études. Throughout his career he wrote mélodies based on a wide variety of poetry, including his own. He was greatly influenced by the Symbolist poetic movement of the later 19th century. A small number of works, including the early La Damoiselle élue and the late Le Martyre de saint Sébastien have important parts for chorus. In his final years, he focused on chamber music, completing three of six planned sonatas for different combinations of instruments.

With early influences including Russian and Far Eastern music and works by Chopin and Liszt, Debussy developed his own style of harmony and orchestral colouring, derided – and unsuccessfully resisted – by much of the musical establishment of the day. His works have strongly influenced a wide range of composers including Béla Bartók, Igor Stravinsky, George Gershwin, Olivier Messiaen, George Benjamin, and the jazz pianist and composer Bill Evans. Debussy died from cancer at his home in Paris at the age of 55 after a composing career of a little more than 30 years.

[I must admit that I only really started getting into Debussy after obsessively listening to my brother's Tomita record - yes, on vinyl - where they covered various of his pieces electronically. I loved it so much that it was one of my first CD purchases. It took me a little while to appreciate the original artist but once I did I loved it!]