Things I learned this week

[shewhomust]

On Wednesday we went to the Lit & Phil to hear Andy Croft read from his new book, 1948, last week's Paperback of the Week in the Guardian. Andy's a lively reader of his own work, and if I hadn't already been looking forward to reading the book (I enjoyed The Ghost Writer, Andy's previous verse novel), the reading would have convinced me. But the highlight of the evening for me was Andy's introduction to the Pushkin sonnet, the form in which the book is written, and why you have to be mad to write it. From this I learned that the Pushkin sonnet has a ridiculously intricate rhyme scheme, and that the feminine rhymes fall in the wrong place.

On Thursday, with a briefly visiting nineweaving, we watched the BBC's evening of Shakespeare-related programming. I understand that the second programme, throughout which I was only intermittently awake, was sensible and intelligent and had some new things to say. But Shakespeare in Italy, in which Francesco da Mosto (of whom I have only heard because he sat next to D. on a vaporetto) explained that Shakespeare was obviously familiar with Italy, must have been there during the seven 'missing' years in his biography, and may even have been Sicilian, since Crollalanza is a Sicilian name. Francesco twinkled and charmed, the Nine-entity heckled and snorted, and a good time was had from all. And from this I learned that that there is no programme idea so flimsy that it cannot be sold to the BBC if it involves a man driving around in a little red sports car.

Comments

[anef.livejournal.com]

I watched the first Shapiro programme, which was interesting and I must watch the others. The best bits where where he related the texts of plays to what was going on politically, eg Measure for Measure. I guessed the Shakespeare in Italy would not be worth watching.

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

As you say: Shapiro seemed to be engaging with the actual text, where Francesco was all 'Romeo and Juliet fall in love, and look, Italians also do that!'