The Book Haven has been unusually silent these last few days. We’ve been at the West Chester Poetry Conference outside Philadelphia, attending workshops, panels, and readings with Dick Davis, Dana Gioia, Sir Andrew Motion, Sam Gwynn, and many, many others.
Humble Moi will be on a panel tomorrow morning to discuss Robert Conquest, the late great historian and poet, who died last year at Stanford.
Just to let you know we mean business, the photo below is taken from Thursday morning’s public conversation with Andrew Motion, former British poet laureate and biographer of Philip Larkin. Dana Gioia was his interlocutor (and no, he’s not as unhappy as he looks). Photograph taken by Gerry Cambridge.
Dana Gioia ponders a remark from Sir Andrew Motion. (Photo: Gerry Cambridge)
Tags: "Dana Gioia", Andrew Motion, Dick Davis, Robert Conquest, Sam Gwynn
June 11th, 2016 at 1:25 am
I went here to read your blog post on Irena Sendler (haven’t managed to find it, yet). But I discover that every single post you made is very interesting. Is there a way, for a European reader who is by no means associated with Stanford, to “follow” your Bookhaven blog (i.e. to get informed of your new posts)? Thank you in advance for your answer.
June 11th, 2016 at 3:42 am
There’s a “subscribe” link on the upper right-hand corner of the Book Haven homepage. And welcome!
June 11th, 2016 at 8:05 am
Duh, what was I thinking! O° Done! Sorry for asking. (And thank you so much for responding!)
June 11th, 2016 at 6:02 pm
No problem! I’ve done dumber stuff than that… believe me!
June 13th, 2016 at 2:06 pm
(Friends wait upon Cynthia’s words honoring Robert Conquest.)
On Jun 13, 2016, at 3:16 PM, Bill wrote:
Roger Kimball writes, “Kingsley Amis tells in his Memoirs about the reception of Robert Conquest’s classic indictment of Stalin’s tyranny, The Great Terror. ‘For many years,’ Amis notes, the book was ‘ignored where possible or dismissed as propaganda.
‘Then, in 1988, favourable references to it began to appear in the Soviet media. . . [A]n American publisher suggested a new edition of the book. “What about a new title Bob? We won’t pretend it’s a new book , but a new title would be good. . .”
‘Bob answered in terms that get a lot of his character into small compass. “Well, perhaps, I Told You So, You Fucking Fools. How’s that?”‘
On Jun 13, 2016, at 3:42 PM, Ron wrote:
Oh, that’s good. I’ve got to read The Great Terror! And that Kramer interview — intriguing.
[Above @https://pjmedia.com/rogerkimball/2008/8/4/a-footnote-on-solzhenitsyn/]
June 13th, 2016 at 4:24 pm
Cynthia, please delete the above comment awaiting moderation. That can be offered later if appropriate, at some place it might rather belong. Thank you.
June 16th, 2016 at 8:13 pm
I’m somewhat allergic to gatherings and groups, but this post makes me think I need to gird myself some year and check out the West Chester conference. Cynthia Haven, Dana Gioia–it’s clearly an event that attracts people whose work I like and admire…
September 22nd, 2024 at 6:50 pm
My goodness, Bill! This letter has just been discovered eight yyears later! Happy to post the earlier comment, if you like!