19 Tuesday Apr 2011
Posted in Literacy News
Tags
Around 55 million pounds worth of ebooks were sold in America in February that compares with just under 50 million pounds for traditional books.
Experts suggest ebooks may soon start outselling their rivals in the UK soon, at the moment they account for just five per-cent of the market.
Author Denny Bradbury says “the figures from the States are interesting, but feels many people will still opt for traditional old style book as they offer a different experience from the digital one .”
19 Tuesday Apr 2011
Posted in Fiction
Winchester Cathedral
Winchester was once the capital of the historic Wessex and Kingdom Of England. But it’s now better known as the county town of Hampshire. An important historical town, especially in the time of William the Conqueror – the Doomsday book was compiled there.
It now features in a new book from Denny Bradbury, Borvo, out this June. It’s
set in the time of Alfred the Great, whose statue is found in the Broadway in
Winchester. She tells the story of a pagan boy who comes to the aid of King
Alfred in the ninth century.
Winchester dates back to 150BC with remains of a fort found on St. Catherine’s
Hill. The Saxons and the Normans both settled in the city.
Many famous authors have lived and stayed in the city and its surrounding
areas, including Jane Austen and John Keates. Upon becoming ill later in
her life, Jane Austen travelled to Winchester in the hope of receiving better
medical care. Winchester was once the second place of medical expertise in
England, after London. She also stayed in a house in Chawston, 17 miles from
Winchester where great classics including ‘Sense and Sensibility’ and ‘Emma’
were written.
It’s said landscape around Winchester inspired John Keats’ famous ‘Ode to
Autumn’.
The most well known landmark in Winchester is its gothic cathedral. It’s the
longest gothic-style cathedral in Europe.
The legend of King Arthur is also of significance to Winchester – an imitation
of the round table hanging in the Great Hall of Winchester Castle. It was created
in the 13th century, bearing the names of Arthur and his knights. Only the Great
Hall remains of the castle now, and it houses a museum of Winchester’s history.
Denny Bradbury sets her new novel Borvo in Winchester for its rich history and
there’s no denying its historical significance.
Sarah Hogan
18 Monday Apr 2011
Posted in Literacy News
Unseen letters written by the poet Walt Whitman in the 19th century have been found.
It includes speeches he penned for the Attorney General after the American civil war.
They were discovered at the National Archives in Washington.
Whitman’s Leaves Of Grass collection of poetry was generally thought to be too controversial for its time for its overt sexuality.
He died in 1892 at the age of 72.
18 Monday Apr 2011
Posted in Denny's Diary
Poetry has long meant so much to me. One of the poems that spoke to me and changed me was one written by William Wordsworth, Lines written in Early Spring. The sentiments expressed praise Nature and, whilst giving voice to the thought that everything has an appreciation of its surroundings, almost despairs of the human condition. As an aside it was also one of my mother’s favourite pieces. Here is an extract; although the whole poem is worthy of reading again and again.
Through primrose tufts, in that green bower, the periwinkle trailed its wreaths; and ’tis my faith that every flower enjoys the air it breathes.
Denny Bradbury
18 Monday Apr 2011
Posted in Misc
Tags
Browning, Denagerie of Poems, Denny Bradbury, DH Lawrence, History of Poetry, Oscar Wilde, Poetry, romantics, Tennyson, Victorian
Poetry has existed in many forms over many millennia. Some styles have broken away from the ‘traditional’ of their time, whereas others have stood the test of time and which transcend the various poetical eras.
From the Babylonians to Ancient Greeks, Romans to Medieval Europe, Renaissance and Romantics, poetry has reflected views of the time as well as influenced them.
During the Victorian era, the traits started by the Romantics such as personal emotions (varying extremes from sadness to euphoria) and conflicting attitudes to religion versus science, really took hold. Writings were seen to highlight the contrasts within the Industrial society and the political status of the Empire.
Lord Alfred Tennyson described beautifully the contradiction of the ‘heroic’ attitudes of imperial conquest and the questionable decisions taken in ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’:
“Forward, the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismayed?
Not tho’ the soldiers knew
Someone had blundered;
(The Charge of the Light Brigade, Lord Alfred Tennyson)
‘The Cry of the Children’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is a moving piece exploring the use of children in factories and mines. Again, she contrasts the idyllic life children should lead with the harsh reality of life, questioning, too, whether god actually exists to allow such hardships and injustice.
Oscar Wilde is another poet who emerged in the late Victorian age; and his poetry often targeted the rights’ and wrongs’ of the times: his poem ‘The New Remorse’ is an example of forbidden love.
Aside from the new ‘topics and emotions’ expressed during the Victorian era, experimental meter also came into practice during the 19th century:
Walt Whitman was an American poet who often used free verse where strict rhyme, rhythm, and specific techniques were not required – although often incorporated to allow a structure.
Gerard Manley Hopkins introduced ‘sprung’ rhythm to poetry – again, breaking away from the strict form of ‘running rhythm’ as he saw it to a freer form, albeit still encompassing a beat.
‘The child is father to the man’. How can he be? The words are wild. Suck any sense from that who can: ‘The child is father to the man’.(The Child Is Father To The Man, Gerard Manley Hopkins)
The honest and sometimes brutal outlook of life in the Victorian Era made way to the Georgian writings, war and yet another romantic wave.
This was but a short period in the history of poetry, often seen as the stepping stone between Victorian and Modern.
Yet it was during this time that DH Lawrence and TS Elliot made names for themselves.
Reject me not if I should say to you
I do forget the sounding of your voice,
I do forget your eyes that searching through
The mists perceive our marriage, and rejoice
(A Love Song, D.H. Lawrence)
Imagist poetry was a form to emerge during the Georgian era. This style was thought to be a rebuff against abstract language and romanticism – an attempt to bring poetry back to ‘exact’ interpretation.
The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
(In A Station Of The Metro, Ezra Pound)
This poem from 1913 is exact and to the point and describes the Imagist views perfectly.
Another style emerging around the same time as the Imagist was Surrealism.
A style brought to the fore by French poets, finding a launch-pad in Andre Breton’s ‘Manifesto of Surrealism’ (1924). Poetry moved away from rigid writing within strict rules to ‘dream-state’ interpretation and accessing the subconscious mind.
Modern poetry has taken its’ own form. There are no strict rules you have to follow – if you desire, you can return to the ancient styles of rhyme and meter, finding heroes in current affairs. Alternatively, look to free verse where anything is accepted as long as you are true to yourself.
Take a look at poet from the present – Denny Bradbury varies her poetic styles yet you can see influences dating back hundreds of years. Read through ‘Denagerie of Poems’ and explore life through her eyes.
There is a poet in all of us – when will it be your time to set yourself free?
Laura Scott
Denny Bradbury Books 