Dear Douglas, glad to see you back again ~ your mail inspired me to look up
David Harsent on the net, as I too, without anything like the same
acquaintance with recent British poetry that you have, remembered his
earlier work & in addition very much value the libretto for _Gawain_, which
I can take delight in as a dramatic poem by itself (& of how many libretti
can that be said?). I discovered a very positive review ( in _The Richmond
Review) of _A Bird's Idea of Flight_, published 1998 by Faber, which sounds
very interesting. Have you discounted this? The contents of the review make
me feel it's my kind of thing, but I'd like to know what you or any others
feel about it before I spend some of my last remaining shekels on the
volume. And what about the book _Another Round at the Pillars_ ed. Harsent
on the subject of Hamilton & the lit. London of the last 30 years? Is it as
good as the (publisher's?) blurb on the Net says? I rather like reading
about literary feuds & so on, as isolated as I am from all that fiddle.
Best, Martin
PS By the way, to pick up an ancient thread of yours, I've just got round to
the latest Dylan & must confirm your enthusiasm for the lyrics but also
register my delight in the music, perhaps the best overall album since
_Blood on the Tracks_; I don't have any trouble listening to Dylan's voice
or accent myself. With rock &c one nearly always has to check the written
lyrics, with most opera & Lieder too, actually.
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