For what it’s worth, here’s something I wrote about “Aubade” 18 months ago. I don’t think I’ve read the poem since then but I find the lines about “an only life” climbing “clear of its wrong beginnings” running through my head regularly
letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2024/05/05/n...

Probably best if you don’t leave it too long, you might lose your chance.

“This morning, I went whale watching, and the guide recommended that we “keep our eyes on the horizon and look for blow.” (This is also a good way to find RFK Jr.)”

That caught me by surprise and made me guffaw.

The British artists formerly known as “young”.

The YBAs aren’t all that young any more.

A momentary pause isn’t adequate compliance with an order to “STOP”, so he’s a scofflaw either way.

Deliberately ambiguous?

The original Casino Royale had music by Burt Bacharach including “The Look of Love”. The more recent one had Eva Green. I’d call that a wash. And Billy Wilder’s 1974 The Front Page is a better remake than His Girl Friday.

Introduce yourself with 5 concerts you’ve seen:

Brad Mehldau (trio and solo, several times)
Enrico Pieranunzi (trio, solo and quintet)
Marcin Wasilewski trio
Esbjörn Svensson trio
John Taylor (solo, and quartet with Diana Torto)

I suspected that.

The Faber website says it’s for fans of Jeff VanderMeer, which rules me out. I’d like to read Bodelsen’s Think of a Number, though, having enjoyed the film The Silent Partner all those decades ago.

I remember Clifford (not really).

But this is “Mary”’s self-criticism, what she thinks when she is “led … to turn on herself”. So it’s to be expected that it will exhibit some of the faults of her work as a whole. (It also sounds a bit like McEwan having fun at his own expense, as with the male character in Sweet Tooth.)

I had to force-quit Bluesky app to close that!

Surely playing it on repeat is … I dunno, wrong, somehow?

This is terrible news. I wondered why I hadn’t seen anything by her in recent months. I hadn’t known she was inspired by Katharine Whitehorn. That comparison is highly appropriate.

I *enjoyed* Grimus  —  if my memory can be relied on it had lots of puns — but didn’t take it all that seriously. Maybe I should read it again. Of course I don’t still have the copy I bought in the late 80s/early 90s.