When it's not publishing my politely scathing book reviews, The Literateur really is fab. I've just read editor Kit Toda's interview with Sir Christopher Ricks."I think that a price is paid for absolutely everything in life. That we’re sitting here, you and I, means that I’m not sitting in a sunken sauna and you’re not having a gin and tonic. Everything we do must mean not doing something or other."
Ricks is wise. Few people fit the word better. He knows what he thinks - because he's really thought about it. He once gave a talk at my school, and I've don't think I've ever encountered such an eloquent advocate for the importance of how we say things. I remember being dazzled and charmed by his apparently off-the-cuff, but probably well-rehearsed, comparative analysis of the phrases "look before you leap" (it just wouldn't work if it were "don't leap until you've looked") and "he who hesitates is lost" (the dithering sighs of those aitches).
While I was at Oxford he gave nine lectures as Professor of Poetry. Despite renewed good intentions each term, I missed every one. With hindsight I can't imagine what could have taken priority. Certainly not a gin and tonic.
No comments:
Post a Comment