Ian Gouge's Blog, page 9
August 15, 2024
August 10, 2024
Sometimes it’s remarkable how quickly a ‘low’ can be followed by a ‘high’…
Some recent posts from my Substack site:
August 5, 2024
“May Day”
There’s a warning right there on the back cover blurb: “one of the UK’s most cherished poets”. Whatever that means. But really? Not for me, I’m afraid. Too much ‘listing’ for my taste, and a great deal of personal reflection with which it is impossible for the reader to associate. All this compounded by dated … Continue reading “May Day” →
August 4, 2024
“Brooklyn”
I confess I expected more from Colm Tóibín’s Brooklyn, especially as it is – apparently – ‘now a major motion picture’. Tinsel Town must have worked its magic to turn something so slight into something ‘major’. Not that I have a problem with little really happening (a lot of life’s like that after all!), but … Continue reading “Brooklyn” →
July 30, 2024
“Them!”
There are 96 pages of ‘poetry’ in Harry Josephine Giles collection Them! – 37 of those pages are totally unreadable. Not poetry at all. Linguistic masturbation and gimmickry. A significant number of the other 59 pages are more or less prose, and 8 are small black-and-white photographs. One piece contains a title and six words; … Continue reading “Them!” →
“Belief Systems”
Ekphrastic poetry needs, I believe, to have a link to its source material which is suitably strong and to some degree self-evident in order for it to work. The twelve poems sitting alongside images of Robert Rauschenberg’s work which are at the heart of Tamar Yoseloff’s Belief Systems for me just fail to hit the … Continue reading “Belief Systems” →
July 27, 2024
Portal to a range of new content…
Some recent posts from my Substack site:
“The House of Bernarda Alba and Other Plays”
The thing that strikes me most about the three plays in this collection (even in translation) is how powerful they must be to witness performed live. Indeed, should I ever get the chance to see The House of Bernarda Alba I will be hard-pushed not to take it. I imagine that with an entirely female … Continue reading “The House of Bernarda Alba and Other Plays” →
July 26, 2024
“Laughable Loves”
One of the remarkable things about the stories in Milan Kundera’s Laughable Loves is how he can create such an array of despicable, shallow, self-centred characters! They’re so easy to despise! Perhaps that’s what makes the stories funny, but I can’t help but take them literally / seriously – which probably makes the characters all … Continue reading “Laughable Loves” →
July 19, 2024
“The Talking Horse and the Sad Girl and the Village Under the Sea”
I did something slightly unusual for me when reading Mark Haddon’s The Talking Horse and the Sad Girl and the Village Under the Sea – I put it to one side for a while. The reason was that I hadn’t made up my mind about it; I wasn’t sure how good it was, or if … Continue reading “The Talking Horse and the Sad Girl and the Village Under the Sea” →
