Following these various commentries and knowing nothing about the man in
question, I am deeply intrigued about the work so often cited, Pearls, could
I receive samples? Thanks. Robin.
----- Original Message -----
From: Richard Caddel <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2000 1:27 PM
Subject: Re: barry macsweeney
> Let me add my twapennorth to the memory of Barry: he could be a royal
> pain to all around him at times, of course, and became, at times, a
> classic instance of the phrase "his own worst enemy". But the Barry
> which shines through in my memory is the ardent, committed lover of
> life-and-poetry, whose enthusiasm and passion for it all was never
> off-duty. Of Barry the performer (I too have been present at a couple
> of the "only complete readings(s) of Pearl") I have to say that his
> nervous edginess, his vulnerablility and bravura, seem exemplary to
> me, as instances of a reader at pains to put his work across on the
> air. That all this comes across now in lasting forms (such as Odes,
> and Pearl, as others have said, and other work of course) may seem
> almost a bonus - but we're grateful for that now. I can think of few
> other poets (Spicer, perhaps) who, at their best, on page and in
> performance, so minimised the intuitive gap between themselves and
> their work. We'll miss him.
>
> His funeral is to be on Wednesday 17th, in Newcastle. For the family's
> sake, attendance here should be limited to family and *really* close
> friends - a more open memorial for the literary community is being
> planned for the near future.
>
> RC
>
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