Fiesta Time (13): Book Lovers' Day

St Ives in Cornwall - home of Hepworth and childhood holiday destination of Woolf

Having read my 'Barbara Hepworth in St Ives' poem, Shaft of Light, Circle of Stone, at Arlington's Poetry Cafe last night, I was delighted to find a tribute to Virginia Woolf on the Oxford Dictionaries site in celebration of Book Lovers' Day.

Godrevy Lighthouse, St Ives

For many Cornwall aficionados, the lighthouse at Godrevy, near St Ives, will always resonate with Woolf's iconic book, To the Lighthouse, despite the fact that the novel (complete with lighthouse) is actually set on the Isle of Skye. However, the author spent childhood holidays at Talland House in St Ives, and one can't help feeling that some of her Cornish experiences were translated into the novel. On one occasion, Virginia's brother, Adrian, was denied a trip to Godrevy - and in the novel, James is confronted with the fact that his forthcoming visit to the lighthouse has been called off.

Don't forget to look up the other Oxford Dictionary Book Lover entries ...

• George Eliot

• Aldous Huxley

• Sir Thomas Browne (and his avian descriptions)

I wonder what you are reading this summer. I am just coming to the end of Mehalah, an adventure set on the salt marshes around Mersea Island by Sabine Baring-Gould, and have just started Silver, Sir Andrew Motion's eagerly-awaited sequel to Treasure Island, which was written, of course, by Robert Louis, a descendant of the Lighthouse Stevensons.

And for those who are wondering, I suspect Book Lovers' Day is actually tomorrow! And for those who are also wondering, yes, Sabine Baring-Gould penned the words to 'Onward Christian Soldiers' ...

Event Alert (2): Launch of 'Silver' by Sir Andrew Motion

Bury St Edmunds (Abbey Gardens)

So what happened to Jim Hawkins?

I wonder if you remember turning the pages of Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson as a compelling swashbuckling yarn unfolded in your mind's eye. Former Poet Laureate and founder of the remarkable online Poetry Archive, Sir Andrew Motion, held us spellbound in Bury St Edmunds the other night at the launch of his new novel, Silver, a sequel to Stevenson's classic tale. The new book is published by Jonathan Cape.  

The event took place in the Greene Room at the Theatre Royal, the only surviving Regency Playhouse in the UK, now in the care of the National Trust. I won't write about the launch event itself in any detail in the hope that some of you may be planning to attend one of these evenings yourselves. Suffice to say that it was a joy to hear the poet reading his own words, with fascinating snatches of commentary thrown in along the way. We were riveted by prose pieces from Silver, and were also treated to a selection of Motion's recent poems. It was one of those evenings that left you craving more, and I found myself joining a mounting queue of (adult) would-be treasure seekers at the book signing table.   

• The 'Lighthouse' Stevensons
• Review of Silver in The Guardian by Daisy Hay

Fiesta Time (1): Andrew Motion at the Dylan Thomas Festival 2010

I have just come in after a wonderful evening at the Dylan Thomas Centre. The annual Dylan Thomas Festival is in full swing, and the theme for 2010 concerns the three Thomases; Dylan, Edward and R.S.

Andrew Motion was speaking on (perhaps) my favourite of the three, Edward. 

Sir Andrew Motion has written extensively on Edward Thomas, and it was good to listen to some of the poems again. 

Many of you will know 'Adlestrop', but did you realise that Edward's father spent some time working for the railways? I must find out more ... 

Poetic People (31): Sir Andrew Motion's Line, Part iii

'Can Creative Writing be taught as a university subject?'

Well, the voters have not exactly turned out in force - but my thanks to those of you who added your pennyworth to my Creative Writing poll.

The final results were as follows:

Votes cast: 9

Breakdown:

	1 Yes, of course.
	0 No, never.
	7 The craft of writing can be taught (but not the art).
	1 I'll sit on the fence!

Our Creative Writing jury for the blogosphere is still out!

It would be misleading to draw conclusions from so small a field of voters, but this poll does at least prove that bloggers are not entirely of one mind. This itself is probably a healthy thing. As bloggers, do we value debate? Perhaps we generally blog to let off steam or for promotion purposes; and perhaps we turn to the blogs of others as a means of relaxation or community activity - or, in some instances, as a kind of education. You may disagree. Perhaps you disagree strongly!

You may be interested to read about Malcolm Bradbury, the founder - with Angus Wilson - of UK university courses in Creative Writing. You may also like to look at the following links:

• The history of the pioneer UEA Creative Writing course
• Malcolm Bradbury on the Absolute Astronomy site
• Sir Malcolm Bradbury: Guardian obituary, 28 Nov 2000
• Sir Angus Wilson
• Creative Writing at Warwick - and Professor David Morley's blog
  

Creative Writing courses abound, and I (for one) choose to side with Sir Andrew Motion. I have not taken a Masters in Creative Writing (to date...), but I have thoroughly enjoyed, and benefited from, the short courses I have undertaken over a number of years. Two of these have been online, two in the community (e.g. run by the WEA), and others have taken place in university settings. A big thank you to my tutors!

Long live good courses that offer an entry into the writing world by helping with matters of craft and technique - and by encouraging students to develop ideas in the context of their chosen areas of creativity. If the students are afforded the privilege of networking opportunities along the way, well, that - for them at least - is surely a bonus.

Poetic People (30): Sir Andrew Motion's Line, Part ii

'Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.'
Anton Chekhov

My thanks, thus far, to Mand (of the Travel Hopefully blog) and to Aidan Baker (Librarian at the Haddon Library, Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge) and for their comments on my previous post (here) on the subject of Sir Andrew Motion's views on the teaching of Creative Writing in universities.

Thank you, too, to those who have voted in my poll.

Aidan Baker refers us on to another article, this time by Louis Menand in the New Yorker (June 2009). The link to this article is here.

If you have not voted in my poll yet (top right of my blog), you might like to read Menand's piece first - but please remember to vote!

• The University of Iowa's Writers' Workshop

Postscript: On the subject of 'new writing' (well, what was once a new way of presenting writing, in this case), do read the marvellous quotation in paragraph 3 (beginning 'an essentially superficial process...') in Professor Henry Farrell's review in the current edition of the THES of A Better Pencil: Readers, Writers, and the Digital Revolution by Dennis Baron (OUP, £13.99, ISBN 9780195388442). Henry Farrell is associate professor of political science and international affairs, George Washington University.

Poetic People (29): Sir Andrew Motion's Line, Part i

'Clash over degree courses that try to teach budding authors the write stuff'.

This was the heading in The Times (16 January) linked to a column by the education correspondent, Nicola Woolcock, in the run-up to the announcement of the TS Eliot Prize. The link is here, although the online version has a less controversial heading!

• 12 out of the 17 on the shortlist of those with the Masters Degree in Creative Writing were women.
  
• 7 (of these?) attended UEA.
• 5 of the 17 (men and women) have been contenders in the Costa First Novel Award since 2005.

Sir Andrew Motion made the valid point that nobody makes a fuss when musicians and actors receive training. He does not agree with those who feel that (creative) writing is not a suitable subject for universities to teach.

'The idea has taken root that writing can be taught as well or badly as acting, painting and dancing,' he concluded.

Do you agree? PLEASE CAST YOUR VOTE IN MY POLL (top right). It will run for a week.

Poetic People (17): Andrew Motion

You can read about Andrew Motion at Tennyson's home, Farringford on the Isle of Wight here.

Poetry Matters (9): The Poetry Archive

We have just listened to the excellent BBC Radio 4 programme on the Poetry Archive. Andrew Motion may be handing over the Laureate torch to Carol Ann Duffy, but the Archive remains as a wonderful, accessible and lasting legacy to his tenure.

Highlights for me were hearing the very different voices of Tennyson, Yeats and Causley - perhaps especially Charles Causley. I believe the programme is due to be repeated on the radio (FM only) on Monday. You can see the site (with iPlayer etc.) here. Sound producer, Richard Carrington, told us a few 'behind the scenes' tales of the actual recordings, and the programme gave a fascinating insight into this wide-ranging and international resource.

The Archive has a good glossary of poetic terms and a description of forms (e.g. 'pantoum', as highlighted on the programme). I would hope that in the future - and where applicable - it might be possible to access the Archive's poems by form - and possibly by subject or key words.

Calendar Corner (5): End of the Laureate's Term of Office

You can read about Andrew Motion here, as he reflects on his ten year term of office. I, for one, was gripped by his childhood, 'In the Blood'.

• A feature on some possible candidates.
• Poetry Society perspective (and Laureate quiz)
  

Poetry People (1): Ruth Padel

The Guardian has announced that Ruth Padel is in the running to become the next Oxford University Professor of Poetry. The poet has allowed her name to be nominated for the post. Andrew Motion has made it clear that he will not be standing. The prestigious post was established in 1708: former post-holders include Matthew Arnold and Seamus Heaney. The post-holder is required to deliver three lectures a year.