Now it’s not for me to disillusion anybody. After all, enduring as a poet is very much a life of encouraging misapprehensions and spreading enchantment. So people rather assume that as a poet I live a most cerebral existence. A life of witty repartee, deep and meaningful insights, and wise words, graciously dispensed. To be … More Grave concerns
I’ve known Mistress Bete for many years. If I may take the liberty of calling her a sensible young woman without seeming to insult her, I shall avail myself of that privilege. She was born into a class which accepted that a daughter would have to work for a living, at least until she married … More And how Mistress Bete became a lady of property.
This is a story about pilgrimage and the quest for enlightenment. A moral tale, a story written for the spiritually discerning. Even as I write it I have to stop to wipe away a tear. There are all sorts of shrines and fanes where those who seek closer communion with the divine can repair and … More It has to be healthy, it’s got honey in it.
Now you might wonder why I lead this article with a painting of Maljie’s bedroom window. I suppose I could use the argument, “It had to be done.” I might even suggest that the artist who risked life and limb to get this picture deserves to have his work more widely publicised, even if the … More The Lady in the Silk Kimono
You know what it’s like. It’s getting late and you discover that there’s nothing in the house to eat. Alternatively you arrive home after a hard day at the office to discover that cook has taken the day off because her elderly mother is unwell and your lady wife is dining that evening with her … More To your very door!
I rarely despair of Port Naain. After all, who wants a gloomy poet? There is a school of thought which suggests we are merely a better class of buffoon. Between ourselves and in all candour, I’m not sure whether the terms ‘school’ and ‘thought’ should be used in connection with people which such a poor … More The orphans
It has to be said that those of us involved with the shrine of Aea in her Aspect as the Personification of Tempered Enthusiasm do occasionally feel ‘put upon.’ I suppose it’s because we’re not involved in any great public ceremonials, are stuck out on the periphery and don’t have a lot of money. Change … More Kept in the dark
It is one thing to have a goal, it is entirely another thing to successfully achieve it. Hindle was wise enough to realise that. Still, next day, as he went about his daily round, he met a young woman. She was carrying a fiddle under one arm but didn’t seem to be going anywhere. He … More A love story, part five. After the ball was over
Not everybody is lucky enough to discover their vocation immediately. Whereas I was obviously doomed to be a great poet, others often vacillate between any number of options. Indeed some people don’t so much discover their calling as have it thrust upon them. Hindle Walbarrow is perhaps a good example of just how life can … More A love story, part four. Graciously rattling the collection bucket
As I continue to work towards telling the story of Hindle Walbarrow I find I must also bring a somewhat lesser figure to mind. I must allow the light of history to illuminate, briefly, the unworthy face of Trastin Leer. It must be confessed that somebody who lacks any pretensions to wit or original thought … More A love story, part three. Only the words.
