Wet and chilly. K and I splashed our way down to the Arnolfini yesterday afternoon to listen to Annie McGann read her poetry. She advised K to cover her ears for her reading of "All men are bastards, and so are the women", which got some spontaneous "been there" applause from the crowd. The Bristol Poetry Festival is in full swing; my contribution, at the Central Library on Thursday, was seventeen syllables long, and was appreciated at least for its brevity. It was the haiku I wrote for K's first day at school, written that morning.
There seems to be an air of nostalgia for the lost and now-drowned summer, here in the blogosphere. Unless, of course, I'm just projecting. Only ten days ago I was swimming in a warm(ish) sea in Devon. It seems very long ago now.
Here's a photo that really was taken a long time ago. In human years anyway.
This picture is by Mervyn Joseph Pius O'Gorman, and is a portrait of his daughter Christina. It was taken at Durdle Door, in 1913
This picture is by Mervyn Joseph Pius O'Gorman, and is a portrait of his daughter Christina. It was taken at Durdle Door, in 1913
I appreciated your haiku. Brief but so much inside.
ReplyDeleteWhen ever we go back to England I always miss the Ledbury Poetry festival by a couple of days. I missed a Well Dressing once too.
You've just sent me on a very interesting journey. I assumed that all coloured postcards from that era were coloured by hand, I was wrong; Now I have thousands to go back through, fortunately I've found a site to help me.
The portrait of Christina is beautiful, as they say there are no period references, it could have been taken yesterday. She is a real mermaid. Thanks for pointing me in that direction
That is a stunning picture. Can you point me in the right direction too - where did you come across it?
ReplyDeletePS News Just In. I've got my Divorce Support Group all reading 'Becoming Drusilla' now...;-).
ReplyDeleteNostalgia for a summer that never was?
ReplyDeleteThat image is exquisite and it shows that hoodies have been in for ages!
Beautiful picture! :-)
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm totally on the downward slide into denial that winter is coming. Now way. No how. Not letting it. I get bad SAD some years. Urgh..
I would not hesitate to second all the praise above for Mervyn O'Gorman's photo. The composition, and the execution are brilliant. Sometimes it seems surprising that the art of photography is as old as the technology. Another example which I could cite would be the portrait. work of Julia Margaret Cameron in the middle of the 19th Century. Not only did she use light and shade as resources, but also the imperfections of the technology of the day - particularly evident in the shaky quality of her photograph of John Herschel. My own favourite amongst her work is her portrait of the actress Ellen Terry - which like Mervyn O'Gorman's photograph has a certain timeless quality about it.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I've been off-line for so long:
ReplyDeleteThanks in turn for reminding me of it, if indirectly, Anji
Sorry, Jo, I hope you found your way to the National Photographic Thing eventually. I'll be interested to hear what the group people have to say about the book ... :-)
There were moments of summer, Caroline. I remember at least two hot days.
I get this feeling of slight dread with the looming of winter, Chandira; the cold weather is a bit of a test of endurance in our unheated flat. So it's an entirely pragmatic dread.
Thanks for that link, Em.