As always, there's plenty of provocative and good reading in The Dublin Review, the summer issue of which is just out. Sadbh was struck, however, by points made by Peter Sirr in his review of recent work by Edna Longley and Declan Kiberd about the state of poetry criticism today. He says as far as the non-specialist is concerned, poetry criticism occurs in the form of brief summary reviews in just one or two newspapers. "These are rarely more than thumbnail sketches, tiny critical cartoons indulged by literary editors as a kind of half piety towards a form that was once thought important, but has long since been superseded, in terms of space and prestige, by prose fiction, biography, history, politics, or , for that matter, cookery, gardening, feng shui." Now, Grub Street, having at times to be all things to all men, certainly can't claim to be at the forefront in the field of poetry criticism - but are things this bad? Given that one reader of these pages has on occasion rung to complain that we have far too many long poetry reviews, Sadbh did a mini survey of the books pages in recent years and was reassured to see how often major reviews of contemporary poetry appear.
One could definitely debate some issues; for instance, could and should more international poetry be reviewed? Do the major names in Irish poetry get too much critical attention, at the expense of emerging poets? But the descriptions "thumbnail sketches" and "tiny cartoons" to dismiss all of what's on offer seem a tad harsh.
Children's author Anne Fine, recently appointed the second Children's Laureate in Britain, is an ideal choice for this prestigious office. Her work extends from picture books to novels for adults and already it's obvious she plans to take a proactive role in her new post. Lashing out at massive overpublishing in the children's literature field, she says there is a moral obligation not to turn readers off with highly hyped, second-rate work .Most widely known since her novel Madame Doubtfire was filmed starring Robin Williams, Fine has twice won the Carnagie Medal and the Whitbread Children's Novel Award. Now she says she has "secret plans" to ensure access to children's literature is improved.
Writing about recent Irish fiction, novelist and critic Rachel Cusk had provocative things to say in Saturday's Daily Telegraph . Does the past still retain considerable control over Irish identity even in this new era of technology, employment and wealth? Mulling over recent books by Keith Ridgeway, Maurice Leitch and Julian Gough, plus The Scribner Book of Irish Writing and Yeats is Dead! , the novel by 15 Irish writers, edited by Joseph O Connor, Cusk concluded that few of these writers wrote directly about Ireland's troubled, violent modern history. To her it appears as a tangible silence and a conundrum in Irish fiction: "A nation of storytellers certainly; but perhaps there are stories they're not telling."
News of a memorial fund in the name of the late Lorna Sage reached us during the week. Though widely respected as an author and academic, she shot to prominence with her wonderful memoir, Bad Blood, published last year, which won the Whitbread Biography Prize just before she died. Evoking her girlhood in post-war rural Britain, it explored a dark family history and the triumph of going on to great academic success in spite of having, and keeping, a baby while in her teens. Although her marriage to her daughter's father, Vic Sage, came to an end in the mid-1970s, the two remained friends, and he was among the speakers at her memorial celebration in April. The book she was working on when she died, Moments of Truth, will be published shortly. The fund has been set up to benefit students in the school of English and American Studies at the University of East Anglia and to commemorate her teaching work there. The aims include the financing of a yearly bursary, a prize in Sage's name and possibly a post-doctoral fellowship. Anyone wanting to contribute should contact The Lorna Sage Memorial Fund. c/o Val Striker, School of English and American Studies, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, England.
Sadbh