Rosemary Tonks was a feted poet, trenchant reviewer and literary socialite. And then she 'disappeared'. Following her death last month, Neil Astley traces her extraordinary storyThe "disappearance" of the poet Rosemary Tonks in the 1970s was one of the literary world's most tantalising mysteries. Bizarre theories abounded as to her whereabouts if she was still alive. As the poet Brian Patten put it in a BBC radio feature about her in 2009, she "evaporated into air like the Cheshire cat". One contributor imagined her living in Cuba, "smoking cigars in a doorway". Other commentators over the years have made her into a nun; consigned her to a sect; had her communing with the ghost of Charles Baudelaire; or put her in a shed at the bottom of someone's garden. For some reason, these mythmakers always required her to be living in poverty.Having tried to visit her myself, 10 years ago, I knew all these theories to be far from the truth. But out of respect for her declared wish, maintained by her family, that she should be left in peace, I kept her address and situation secret. Tonks died last month at the age of 85 (all the existing records had her as four years younger). She had indeed been living as a near-recluse but out of choice, quite comfortable in her circumstances. Even so, she remained restless in spirit, defiantly independent and quite alone in her continuing search for God, for she was ever alert to the "brainwashing", manipulative tendencies in the religious... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A consortium of investors led by former News Corp CEO Peter Tonagh will buy the Australian Associated Press saving up to 95 jobsThe Australian Associated Press Newswire has been saved at the 11th hour by a consortium of investors and philanthropists led by former News Corp chief executive Peter... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-06-05 06:33:42 UTC ]
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On the 1st of June, the day thousands of pupils returned to school as part of the government’s plan to end lockdown, I received a call from my manager. As a bookseller with Blackwell’s, I had been glad when we shut our doors in March to protect the health of our staff and customers. I imagined... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-04 02:42:56 UTC ]
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How many times have you heard someone say, ‘I don’t read poetry. I just don’t get it.’ Or perhaps, ‘Why can’t poets just come out and say what they want to say? Why say something in such a way?’ For many people, poetry is ‘difficult’. But whilst it’s true that […] The post 10 of the Most... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2020-05-30 14:00:36 UTC ]
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The Academy of American Poets has announced its 2020 Poets Laureate Fellows. The 23 fellowships are intended to help the poets lead civic poetry programs in their communities over the next year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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For National Poetry Month, Brown launched “Goodnight America,” a weekly series of live performances on Zoom that combine poetry, comedy and lullabies. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-04-30 12:00:00 UTC ]
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As Jackie Kay's tenure as Scots Makar comes to a close, she reflects on poetry's vital place in Scottish culture- and her hopes for her successor Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-19 22:29:24 UTC ]
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Pulitzer Prize–winning poet and former poet laureate Natasha Trethewey’s memoir tells a tragic and inspiring story that shaped her life and work. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Frances Hodgson Burnett is best known for children’s classics like The Secret Garden and Little Lord Fauntleroy, but a new anthology of lost stories reveals her “weird” side. At the Guardian, Alison Flood writes about “The Christmas in the Fog,” an eerie story set on a New York-bound liner. “Ten... Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2020-04-13 20:30:07 UTC ]
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Here is the shortlist for this year’s Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize. In its fifteenth year, the Dylan Thomas Prize is one of the UK’s most prestigious literary awards, as well as the largest literary prize for young writers (that means age 39 and under). Congratulations to the finalists!... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-07 13:39:50 UTC ]
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The work of young and experimental poets dominates this year's Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize, worth £30,000. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-06 21:43:32 UTC ]
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In 2013, I corresponded with David Ferry by phone to conduct a wide-ranging interview on his poetry, translations, and literary life. He had just won the National Book Award for Bewilderment: New Poems and Translations and was still at work on Virgil’s Aeneid which he published in 2018. Today,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-05 09:48:44 UTC ]
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Danez Smith burst into national recognition in 2014, when their poems about the Black Lives Matter movement found piercing resonance in a time of social and political change. Smith won the Individual World Poetry Slam that year, as well as the Lamda Literary Award for Gay Poetry for their book... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-21 09:49:13 UTC ]
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Ebury has signed a memoir from poet and novelist Helen Mort which it says could do for climbing what other books have done for running and wild swimming. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-20 11:08:11 UTC ]
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Indie crime press Brash Books recently released 'All Kinds of Ugly' by Ralph Dennis, the 13th installment in his Jim Hardman series. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
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In his memoir 'Children of the Land,' poet Marcelo Hernandez Castillo writes of border journeys, family separation and crossing a 'threshold of invisibility.' Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-01-29 15:00:08 UTC ]
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The managers of the pioneering digital media company will take the next six months to figure out a new direction. The post How CollegeHumor lost its early lead appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2020-01-15 05:01:41 UTC ]
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She says our global community is at a dire environmental moment in our collective history. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-01-14 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Profile Books will publish a “fearless work of creative non-fiction about racism in cultural pursuits” by award-winning poet Cathy Park Hong. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-17 01:56:53 UTC ]
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TweetSomeone came up to one of our children’s specialists the other day and asked if anyone had ever retrieved the $200 Harry Potter boxed set that had been accidentally knocked into the hollow column next to the Harry Potter section during our storewide inventory in July. Since no one had... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-12-13 13:00:27 UTC ]
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