Showing posts with label donne. Show all posts

Wednesday, 1 November 2023

Artlyst: November Art Diary

My November Art Diary for Artlyst highlights exhibitions in Cambridge, Venice, Hastings, Lisbon, St David’s, Cookham and Colchester which explore aspects of relationships. These range from the familial to the transcendent through the work of Chantal Joffe, Celia Paul, Nengi Omuku, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Raul Speek, Stanley Spencer and Roger Wagner, among others:

'‘Everywhere is Heaven: Stanley Spencer & Roger Wagner’ is the Stanley Spencer Gallery’s first collaboration with a living artist. Roger Wagner has been deeply inspired by Stanley Spencer’s paintings, and both artists have been described as ‘visionary geniuses’, each seeking to evoke the mystical in everyday experience. Just as Spencer found Cookham to be ‘heaven on earth’, so Wagner evokes biblical happenings in contemporary settings.

A number of works by Wagner, who is also a published poet, will be hung alongside Spencer’s from the Gallery Collection and the Fitzwilliam in Cambridge, including ‘Builders of the Tower of Babel’ and ‘Making Columns for the Tower of Babel’. The two artists are united by a love of ‘metaphysicals’, as Spencer would have said, including the poets John Donne and Thomas Traherne. Traherne, in particular, wrote with a visionary innocence and found mysticism in the natural world. The title of the exhibition references Spencer’s own words about his painting, ‘John Donne arriving in Heaven’, which has been loaned for this exhibition, and his description of the four figures facing in all directions because ‘everywhere is heaven so to speak’.'

My other pieces for Artlyst are:

Interviews -

Monthly diary articles -

Articles/Reviews -

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Roger Wagner - I Saw The Seraphim.

Saturday, 1 July 2023

Quiet Day: Poetry and Prayer

We had a wonderful day at St Mary's Runwell for our latest Quiet Day which explored poetry and prayer. It was lovely to share the day with people from our parish, from elsewhere in the Diocese, and friends from St Martin-in-the-Fields. We looked at poems about prayer and poems written as prayers. We reflected on poetry by John Berryman, John Donne, Carol Ann Duffy, George Herbert, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Elizabeth Jennings, Tasos Leivaditis, Ann Lewin, John O'Donohue, Mary Oliver.

In my introduction to the day, I said:

'David Yezzi, writing in the New Criterion, states that: “Prayers and poems share an uncanny family resemblance. In fact, they look so much alike at times they could be thought of as identical twins separated in childhood.” “The common origins of poetry and prayer date back at least to the second millennium B.C., when the two functioned seamlessly as one expression.” (https://newcriterion.com/issues/2012/4/power-of-some-sort-or-other-on-poems-and-prayers)

Similarly, Derek Rotty writes that the “idea of making poetry into prayer has ancient roots, as far back as the choral chants of Greek theater. Yet, it was in the Hebraic tradition that poetry became prayer in a specific way. The Psalms, ancient Hebrew poems mostly attributed to King David, became the prayer book for the worship of the Jewish people. These Psalms contain the gamut of human emotions: from love to despair; from joy to sorry; from cries for protection to cries for mercy after grave sin.” (https://catholicexchange.com/poetry-as-prayer/)

Roughly 33% of the Bible is poetry, including songs, reflective poetry, and the passionate, politically resistant poetry of the prophets ... (https://overviewbible.com/poetry/)

Poet Gideon Heugh notes that “The Bible brims with the poetic. Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, the Song of Solomon, Job and most of the Old Testament prophets are written either entirely or in part as poetry ... (https://www.tearfund.org/stories/2021/03/how-poetry-can-help-us-pray)'

With Ellen McGrath Smith we noted that many poets: “invoke the spiritual writing of Simone Weil, including her assertion that ‘absolutely unmixed attention is prayer.’ This … broadens the possibility for poetry as prayer, regardless of content, since writing poetry is an act of acute mindfulness.” (https://talkingwriting.com/poetry-prayer)

My poem about St Mary's entitled 'Runwell' takes the reader on a visit to St Mary's Runwell, while also reflecting on the spirituality of the space plus its history and legends. Click here to read the poem.

Our next Quiet Day at St Mary's will be on WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2023 AT 10:30 AM – 3:30 PM. The Rhythm of Life will be a day spent reflecting on Celtic Spirituality, its place in our history, its saints, prayer and worship, music and art.

Reflect in the magnificent mediaeval building that is St Mary’s Runwell, and relax in its beautiful churchyard. St. Mary’s itself is often described by visitors and by regular worshippers as a powerful sacred space to which they have been drawn. Experience this yourself, while also exploring its art and heritage.

Led by Revd Sue Wise, Team Vicar, Wickford and Runwell Team Ministry.
Cost: £8.00 per person, including sandwich lunch (pay on the day).
To book: Phone 07941 506156 or email sue.wise@sky.com.

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Mary Gauthier - Prayer Without Words.

Tuesday, 22 July 2014

Out and About

One Equall Light was an exhibition themed on the “Sermons and Holy Sonnets of John Donne” was held from 30th June - 20th July, 2014 at St Giles, Cripplegate and St James, Piccadilly. Christian Arts collaborated with Art and Christianity Enquiry on the exhibition organisation and the ACE International Conference was held during the beginning of the exhibition period. The exhibition coincided with the City of London Festival. The exhibition included selected work from Christian Arts members and work from invited artists, Susie Hamilton at St. James and Margot Perryman at St. Giles. Link to the exhibition catalogue here - Catalogue. I attended Sam Wells' talk on 'Art and the Renewal of St Martins' at St Giles Cripplegate (which was part of the ACE conference) with Jean Lamb and Wendy McTernan and then visited the St James Piccadilly half of the exhibition with Wendy again and Hayley Bowen.

Art and Life at Dulwich Picture Gallery: Ben and Winifred Nicholson were at the forefront of the Modern British movement and produced some of the most memorable works of the period. Discover ten years of artistic exploration by the couple in this exhibition curated by their grandson, Jovan Nicholson. It provides a rare opportunity to see their views of the same landscapes, seascapes, still lifes and portraits alongside pieces by contemporaries Christopher Wood, Alfred Wallis and the potter William Staite Murray. I thoroughly enjoyed this excellent show when I visited on Friday.

Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing is a Radio 4 comedy that mixes stand-up with re-enacted scenes from comedian Nathan Caton's family life. Regarded as one of the best young comics in the UK, Nathan's award-winning combination of personal and topical anecdotes has lead to appearances on BBC2's Mock The Week, BBC3's Russell Howard's Good News, BBC Radio 4's Now Show, News Quiz. I watched part of the recording of the third series with Paul Trathen.

The sheer variety of work presented each year is what makes the RA's Summer Exhibition an annual highlight of the cultural calendar. I went with Christopher Clack who has 'Teenage Boy', one of his portrait photographs, included in the show. Alongside Chris' marvellous image, in a room which also includes work by James Turrell, is a wonderful video by Everton Wright which was, for me, one of the best things in the show. I also particularly enjoyed work by John Bellany, Peter Freeth, Kaori Homma, Anselm Keifer and Wolfgang Tillmans.

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Gene Clark - Ship Of The Lord.

Tuesday, 8 July 2014

Exhibitions and events update

An exhibition themed on the “Sermons and Holy Sonnets of John Donne” is being held at St Giles, Cripplegate and St James, Piccadilly in Central London until 20th July 2014. Christian Arts has worked with Art and Christianity Enquiry on the exhibition organisation and the ACE International Conference will be held during the exhibition period.

The Sacred City - Public lectures from the ACE/ASK conference: The Revd Dr Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Turning All into Alleluia: Arts and the Renewal of St Martin-in-the-Fields on Tuesday 8 July, 6.30pm at St Giles Cripplegate, Fore Street, London EC2Y 8DA. Professor Alison Milbank, Associate Professor of Literature and Theology at the University of Nottingham, Visualising London through the Eyes of Dante on Wednesday 9 July, 6.30pm at St James's Church, 197 Piccadilly, London W1J 9LL. Tickets on the door: £5, concessions and ACE members £4 (free to ACE conference delegates). The lectures are kindly suported by the Community of St Andrew and the Gibbs Family Charitable Trust. Also, as part of the conference, two artworks by Anna Sikorska and Benedict Romain will be exhibited at St Giles-in-the-Fields, 7–11 July.

CANA Christian Arts Seminar at New Jerusalem Church, Phnom Penh, August 12 - 13, 8.00 am - 5.00 pm. Two days of teaching, sharing and worship, exploring ways to use creative gifts to serve God. CANA stands for Christian Artists Networking Association. Their vision is to see artists and creative people redeemed and rooted in the love of God, so that their creativity reflects Truth in beautiful ways. CANA has helped organize Christian arts conferences in Bali, Thailand, and different parts of Europe. They are making plans for a similar conference to be held in Cambodia in the summer of 2015.

As a precursor to that, they are inviting people to attend a two-day seminar on August 12-13, 2014, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., at New Jerusalem Church, Phnom Penh, to learn more about their vision and to explore how they might be involved in the 2015 conference. At the 2014 seminar, they are partnering with CCAM, Cambodian Christian Arts Ministry, to present some teaching and examples about how to integrate faith with creativity. This teaching will focus on who we are in Christ, and how we may effectively bear fruit for Him through the arts. It will draw upon Biblical foundations and perspectives, exploring insights revealed by Jesus Himself in His creation and in His Word, especially gleaned from the Gospel of John.

If you are an artist searching for your God-ordained niche in the Kingdom of God, or a creative person wondering how your gifts can make a difference for Christ in the world, or a missionary or church leader desiring new ideas for creative ministry, then this seminar is for you! For additional information, or to pre-register, contact Steve Scott at info.cana.arts@gmail.com . There is no registration fee, but donations to help cover expenses are welcome. Participants are requested to bring their own picnic lunch.

Adam Boulter, who is priest at the Church of St Peter and St Paul in Aqaba, Jordan, will be holding an exhibition of paintings and pastels from Jordan entitled: out of the wilderness at Piers Feetham Gallery (475 Fulham Road, London SW6 1HL) from 15th-20th September 2014. Private Views: 6.30 - 8.30 pm, Tuesday 16th & Thursday 18th September. Gallery opening times: Monday 3 pm - 6 pm, Tuesday - Friday 10 am - 6 pm, Saturday 10 am - Midday.

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Steve Scott - The Resurrection Of The Body.

Thursday, 16 January 2014

Music at Midnight: the Life and Poetry of George Herbert

Music at Midnight: the Life and Poetry of George Herbert by John Drury is a brilliant biography as this review by Diarmaid MacCulloch makes plain:

'Drury triumphantly delivers the goods, artfully weaving the poetry through the life (little of Herbert’s verse can be pinned to particular dates, which Drury turns to his advantage). He opens with what he rightly calls a masterpiece, “Love III”: “Love bade me welcome; yet my soul drew back”. So much of Herbert is packed into it: a disarmingly domestic scene of a cheerful meal, in which the poet’s sense of unworthiness, doubt and self-loathing is lovingly subverted by a Host – both innkeeper and that which Catholic Christians term the bread of the Eucharist. “So I did sit and eat”: what Reformed Protestant simplicity to cap the verse!'

'Because he published no English poems during his lifetime, and dating most of them exactly is impossible, writing Herbert's biography is an unusual challenge. In this book John Drury sets the poetry in the whole context of the poet's life and times, so that the reader can understand the frame of mind and kind of society which produced it, and depth can be added to the narrative of Herbert's life. (T.S. Eliot: 'What we can confidently believe is that every poem in the book [The Temple] is in tune to the poet's experience.') His Herbert is not the saintly figure who has come down to us from John Aubrey, but a man torn for much of his life between worldly ambition and the spiritual life shown to us so clearly through his writings. The result is the most satisfying biography of this exceptional English poet yet written.' (Trinity Hall, Cambridge)

Drury is particularly good on Herbert's relationship with John Donne and his influence on poets such as Richard Crashaw and Henry Vaughan. Herbert was himself influenced by Nicholas Ferrar who 'transformed his mercantile family into a religious and educational community, a voluntary society that he hoped would preach to contemporaries by their example. While that hope was at best only partially fulfilled in his lifetime, those who had known him at Little Gidding were able later to form networks that adapted that piety and voluntarism to create societies acceptable within the church. These men led the way to voluntary Anglicanism that characterized a 'Church of England' in transition from a national to an established but essentially voluntary institution.' The memory of the community survived to inspire and influence later undertakings in Christian communal living, and one of T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets also called "Little Gidding."

On his deathbed Herbert sent Ferrar the manuscript of The Temple, telling him to publish the poems if he thought they might "turn to the advantage of any dejected poor soul" and, if not, to burn them. Ferrar decided to publish them and Herbert's poetry has remained in print ever since.

Malcolm Guite is particularly illuminating on Herbert's poetry in his excellent Faith, Hope and Poetry: Theology and the Poetic Imagination. Also worth reading are his post on Herbert's poems about prayer and his sonnet for George Herbert.

Justin Lewis-Anthony and Sam Norton are provocative and relevant on the George Herbert model of ministry as an overwhelmingly impossible task. Lewis-Anthony suggests in If you meet George Herbert on the road, kill him: Radically Re-Thinking Priestly Ministry that the memory of Herbert celebrated by the Church is an inaccurate one, and, in its inaccuracy, is unfair on Herbert himself and his successors in the ordained ministry.

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Ralph Vaughan Williams - The Call.

Sunday, 1 December 2013

Anglican, nature and metaphysical poets

Mia Anderson, priest and winner of the Montreal International Poetry Prize, is interviewed in the current edition of the Church Times.

In the interview, she highlights the long tradition of poet-priests including John Donne, George Herbert, Thomas Traherne, Euros Bowen, R.S. Thomas, Rowan Williams and David Scott, among others. She locates herself with the nature poets of any country including Henry Vaughan, Don McKay, Tim Liburn, Jan Zwicky and Mark Tredinnick.

Poetry also features in an insightful interview by Michael Symmons Roberts with John Drury in which they discuss the relative merits of the poetry of John Donne and George Herbert.

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John Donne - At The Round Earth's Imagined Corners.

Sunday, 5 February 2012

Aldborough Hatch: The village in the suburbs

This evening I led a service of Holy Communion at St Peter's Aldborough Hatch where I took the photos above. Ron Jeffries, a local community activist and historian, is a member of St Peter's and has written a book about the history of Aldborough Hatch:

"This book is the culmination of many years of delving into the life and lives of a unique community on the edge of the Green Belt in the London Borough of Redbridge. Born here, the author is one of many who have campaigned locally to keep the countryside of Aldborough Hatch open for all to enjoy.

This is not an official – nor is it an unofficial – history of Aldborough Hatch. Rather it is a lively, often amusing and sometimes revealing journey across the centuries – from the time when the forest of Essex covered much of Fairlop Plain to the present day when the traffic on the A12 on its southern boundary roars past on its way into mainland Europe and far beyond. If St. Peter’s Church features large in this book, this is because it has been at the very heart of Aldborough Hatch for the past 150 years and much local history is tied up within its walls.

But this is no dull catalogue of the past, for the pages bring to life little-known facts such as that Aldborough Hatch had its own “Lover’s-walk”, that the Dick Turpin has its roots in a Beer House in a cottage, that diarist Samuel Pepys visited, and poet John Donne and politician George Lansbury lived here, that Lulu’s Boom Bang-a-Bang started life here, that in 1862 villagers hereabouts spent the evening engaged in “rustic sports”, that the first lady Churchwarden at St. Peter’s was elected in 1915 (three years before women had the vote) and that actor, producer, director and author Bryan Forbes lived here and Hollywood superstar Rock Hudson visited a home here.

Published in 2012 to coincide with the 150^th Anniversary of the Consecration on 6^th March 1862 of St. Peter’s Aldborough Hatch, the book includes maps dating back to 1777 and in addition to the history of Aldborough Hatch Chapel, St. Peter’s and St. James, the stories behind Cuckoo Hall, St. Chad’s Well, the farms in Aldborough Hatch, Fairlop Airfield, Fairlop Waters, Newbury Park Station and the Ilford War Memorial Gardens."

Aldborough Hatch

The Village in the Suburbs – A History

120pp in full colour with 143 photographs, 13 illustrations and 10 maps

Publication March 2012 – ISBN 978-0-9561877-2-7

£14.99 plus £2.50 postage and packing in UK

Pre-Publication Offer £12 (plus £2.50 postage if sent by mail in UK)

Please make cheques payable to Ron Jeffries

Available direct from the Publisher: Ron Jeffries - Tel: 020 8599 7250; Email: ronjeffries@live.co.uk

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The Members - Sound Of The Suburbs.

Saturday, 4 September 2010

Celebration of Christian Poetry

A celebration of Christian poetry from John Donne and George Herbert to R.S. Thomas, Stewart Henderson, and beyond which will include poetry readings, information on featured poets, favourite poems introduced and read by local clergy, and choral recitals of well known poems. Friday 1st October 2010, 7.30pm, St John's Church, St John's Road, Seven Kings, Ilford, Essex IG2 7BB. Contact the Parish Office on 020 8598 1536 or info@stjohns7kings.org.uk for more details. This event is part of the London Borough of Redbridge's Word of Mouth Festival and the Patronal Festival of St John's Seven Kings.

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Stewart Henderson and Martyn Joseph - School Rules.

Friday, 20 March 2009

A Disappearance (1)

“Pleasure or business, so, our souls admit For their first mover, and are whirl'd by it.”
(John Donne, ‘Good Friday, 1613, Riding Westward’)

I.

A busy, noisy East End pub full of lunchtime sights and sounds -jukebox vibrating with Morrissey's 'Spring Heeled Jim', the clink of shot pool balls, numbered meals being called and the clamour of countless shouted conversations.

We focus on Danny seated in the round with his mates downing his pint. We hear the noise of their conversation and laughter without being able to identify any specifics.

Danny is a full head of steam, flash of greased lightening, hit the ground running kind of guy. He is fast, fleet, fly, up to speed. In his work, as a packer, he prides himself on earning the highest bonuses. In any relationship he makes the running. A hustler who forces the pace he has to be given his head. He rides a Harley, not as a purist, but simply to get a ton up. He is one of thousands, puffed up and preening in their macho struttings, little red roosters all.

We see Danny miming to the Morrissey vocal while his mates mime the speaking parts. In the style of a pop video we cut quickly to a series of scenes of the group at the pub at different times of day - arriving on their bikes, girlfriends riding behind - at the pool table - playing darts - dancing on a disco night - ogling a stripper. In each scene Danny is central and miming to the song.

As the song ends we return to the group in the pub, in the round, at lunchtime. We follow Danny's gaze as he scans his mates. He leans back on his chair - hands behind his head, perfectly content - and as he does so he glimpses the clock above the bar.

DANNY: Shit! I'm gonna be late again.

He graps his jacket, vaults across the lap of one of his mates, stops and reaches back to drain the dregs of his pint and vanishes out the pub door. We see him running down the street at high speed before turning a corner.

We catch up with him and view him from the side, his full profile framed, as he weaves in and out of the crowd. His face is flushed. He is clearly running at full pelt.

Suddenly, as he runs his feet disappear from under him. His momentum, for a second, carries him further forward before he falls. We see him sprawl, landing on one knee and flipping onto his back.

Through his eyes we see him grasp his knee with his hands and pull it towards his chest. We can see clearly that there is no foot at the end of his leg. A disbelieving, pained cry escapes from his lips. He pulls himself into a foetal position on his side but with legs extended so that he can see what appears to be his legs petering into nothing. His body jerks in an involuntary grimace as he attempts to physically remove himself from the horror. His legs drag after him and he finds himself unable to stand. He violently turns himself onto his front and is promptly sick. Not caring, he buries his head in his arms and lies prone, his vomit on his arms and in his hair. His mind fills with the picture of the void that had been his feet. He lies numb, his eyes closed shutting out all sight of the incomprehensible reality.

We hear the sounds of a crowd gathering - running footsteps, gasps, "over 'ere, look over 'ere", "don't believe it!", "'e 'ad a fit or what?". Danny glances up, sees a ring of various feet and legs and buries his head back in his arms. He begins to cry.

The sound of his tears is joined by the sobs of another. Someone has come from the crowd and joined him on the pavement. We see long auburn hair covering his face. A woman is bending over him, her dark hair shadowing the pale oval of his face. She has her hand under his arm, embracing him - her face against his - and weeping with him.

We begin to hear an ambulance siren sound in the distance. The sound grows in volume as we watch the woman cradle Danny's face. We hear the ambulance come to a rapid halt and the paramedics leap into action. The crowds part and a gleaming steel stretcher is wheeled alongside Danny.

Danny feels his nostrils twitch as they are teased by strands of hair. He opens his eyes and looks directly into the dark depths of her mahogany eyes wet with compassionate tears. It is a moment sensual with the naturalness of naked concern and restores hope to him.

Two paramedics tread on their poignancy. They hastily check him over for other injuries, lift him onto the stretcher and bundle him into an ambulance that seems to be pulling away even as they slide him in. The siren whirrs like the sound of a helicopter starting up.

Once inside the paramedics cannot not bear to watch a sight that confounds and confuses their knowledge of injury and they quickly cover his legs with a blanket and mutter platitudes to him. Arriving at the hospital they hurriedly wheel him down corridors, clearing patients and visitors out of the way before he is brought through into a private room.

A semi-circle of doctors lean menacingly forward to examine the areas of loss and stark-stare astonished before hurriedly anaesthetizing him. His vision blurs and fades.

He wakes in panic, thrashing his body about on the bed, hands covering his face.

DANNY: Gone, gone. My feet. Vanished. Where? Gone.

A nurse enters his private room, leans backwards out the doorway and calls for the doctor. The doctor arrives rapidly and comes in speaking efficient calmness.

DOCTOR: Now, Mr Sparkes, I'm glad to see you've come round. I can see you're disturbed but let's try to calm down, shall we? Let's try to talk things through rationally, shall we?

When Danny continues thrashing, moaning and begins to open his mouth to protest the sheets are dramatically thrown back and there are his feet, laughing at him as he moves them to and fro to try them out. On his face we see panic turn to amazement. They are undoubtably his feet. He examines them - there is the mole on the side of his right foot. That certainly belongs to him. He smells them - they even smell like his feet.

DANNY: What have you done? Have you sewn them back on?

He looks again - there are no stitch marks that he can see. Suddenly, relief and delight flood his face. He leaps off the bed and begins to dance. As his feet hit the floor and hold his body firm we distinctly here sighs of relief slip from the lips of doctor and nurse. Danny dances over to his shoes and while hopping slips them on. Then he skedaddles from the room. We see him from behind as he runs down the corridor. Before he reaches the end and turns the corner he leaps and punches the air.

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Morrissey - Spring Heeled Jim.