Occasional Glimpses of the Sublime

Oscar Wilde’s The Importance Of Being Earnest (1895)

davewheeler2@hotmail.com — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 12:04:55 +0000

Oscar Wilde is remembered these days for being 1) witty (“I have nothing to declare but my genius”) and 2) gay, in a far-from-ideal period of history in which to be gay (Bosie, Reading gaol and all that). I suppose all writers can be boiled down to a simple phrase (Orwell: edgy political allegory and … Continue reading Oscar Wilde’s The Importance Of Being Earnest (1895) →

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Robert Altman’s Short Cuts (1993)

davewheeler2@hotmail.com — Fri, 03 Jan 2025 12:18:47 +0000

I have just finished reading Raymond Carver’s collection of disquieting short stories, Short Cuts, which inspired the subject of today’s blog, Robert Altman’s 1993 movie of the same name. Carver was a master of the sub-genre of literary fiction dubbed “dirty realism” by American journalist Bill Buford. Dirty realism is characterised by depicting the seamier … Continue reading Robert Altman’s Short Cuts (1993) →

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Greg Lake’s I Believe In Father Christmas (1975)

davewheeler2@hotmail.com — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 10:48:39 +0000

We all have our favourite Christmas songs. Most of these we like through sheer tradition – songs like Slade’s Merry Christmas Everybody (1973) or Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmastime (1979) are just as part of the Christmas landscape, ingrained by sheer repetition, as Christmas trees and Father Christmas. I have delved into Spotify to explore Christmas … Continue reading Greg Lake’s I Believe In Father Christmas (1975) →

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Jerome K Jerome’s Three Men In A Boat (1889)

davewheeler2@hotmail.com — Sat, 07 Dec 2024 10:54:13 +0000

I don’t get out on boats very often, admittedly, but there is a very appealing aesthetic, isn’t there, of being on a boat in a slow-flowing river in the middle of summer? Think of punting down the river Cam, with the hum of insects in the hot air, a straw boater shielding your eyes from … Continue reading Jerome K Jerome’s Three Men In A Boat (1889) →

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Andrew Wyeth’s Christina’s World (1948)

davewheeler2@hotmail.com — Fri, 22 Nov 2024 12:05:08 +0000

Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009) is perhaps not a widely known name outside of the States, but he was one of the greats of middle 20th century American art. His oeuvre was American Regionalism, the realist art movement that depicted scenes from the rural, small-town America of the Midwest. Land and people, painted by an artist with … Continue reading Andrew Wyeth’s Christina’s World (1948) →

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Walter De La Mare’s The Listeners (1912)

davewheeler2@hotmail.com — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 17:07:13 +0000

Philistines might say that they “don’t get” poetry because it’s dressed up in flowery language and they can’t understand it. If the objective is to tell a story or communicate a message, they wonder, why dress it up in poetic language so that the meaning is obscured and only serves to create work for the … Continue reading Walter De La Mare’s The Listeners (1912) →

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Albrecht Dürer’s Self-Portrait At Twenty-Eight (1500)

davewheeler2@hotmail.com — Sat, 26 Oct 2024 10:42:13 +0000

Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) was a German painter and printmaker and a leading light of the Northern Renaissance. Born in Nuremberg to a successful goldsmith, he lived in the same street where his godfather Anton Koberger was turning Gutenberg’s printing press into a huge commercial enterprise and publishing the famous Nuremberg Chronicle (1493). Albrecht learnt the … Continue reading Albrecht Dürer’s Self-Portrait At Twenty-Eight (1500) →

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Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet On The Western Front (1929)

davewheeler2@hotmail.com — Sat, 12 Oct 2024 11:19:58 +0000

Last week’s University Challenge asked which literary work opens with these lines: “We are at rest five miles behind the front. Yesterday we were relieved, and now our bellies are full of bully beef and beans”. Like a shot, I metaphorically spat out my cornflakes in a garbled attempt to get my answer out before … Continue reading Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet On The Western Front (1929) →

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John Keats’ Ode, To Autumn (1819)

davewheeler2@hotmail.com — Fri, 27 Sep 2024 12:40:30 +0000

Autumn is in the air, a sign that is welcomed in my household, and one which triggers a swapping out of cushions and candles for ones befitting the season. Autumnal colours and aromas abound. My weekend walk was cooler and cloudier but the hedgerows were still full of late-fruiting blackberries, and the walk brought to … Continue reading John Keats’ Ode, To Autumn (1819) →

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Sidney Lumet’s 12 Angry Men (1957)

davewheeler2@hotmail.com — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 11:46:46 +0000

Classics night at Cottage Road cinema is proving to be the gift that keeps on giving! Just as the dust settles on my recent blog about Bad Day at Black Rock, this month’s feature compelled me to write about another classic from the fifties, Sidney Lumet’s legal drama 12 Angry Men (1957). The film was … Continue reading Sidney Lumet’s 12 Angry Men (1957) →

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