Nigeness

 It's been a pretty terrible year for butterflies, one of the worst I can remember – and for the usual reason: the English weather.  A c...

 A musical anniversary today: Rebecca Clarke, one of a number of women composers who are now getting their due in terms of recognition and a...

 The more I read of Richard Wilbur, the more I admire him. Here is a poem I happened upon while browsing last night – a brilliant evocation ...

 Born  on this day in 1849 was the poet William Ernest (W.E.) Henley. I've written before about his most famous poem, the indestructible...

 The excellent local history website Lichfield Discovered yesterday carried a piece about a dog's gravestone found behind a former solic...

 Born on this day in 1631 was the poet and critic John Dryden, the dominant literary figure of Restoration England. Among many other activit...

 As you might expect of a book 'written under considerable difficulty', Edith Sitwell's autobiography, Taken Care Of , is someth...