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Re: Poets' Corner
Posted: 20 Jun 2015, 21:06
by Julie2owlsdene
It must be that then, Rob. As I say it was a while back and I can't remember what it was I saw. I know it was at the town hall, as I had to ask someone where it was.
Re: Poets' Corner
Posted: 20 Jun 2015, 21:22
by Rob Houghton
Re: Poets' Corner
Posted: 21 Jun 2015, 11:04
by Julie2owlsdene
Yes, that's what I saw, Rob. I have a photo somewhere in my collection tool
Re: Poets' Corner
Posted: 26 Jun 2015, 02:17
by walter raleigh
Courtenay wrote:I wouldn't have known where just about anywhere in England was when I started reading Enid Blyton (actually, I probably wouldn't have known where Britain itself was on a world map at that age), but that didn't stop me from loving her books!
I think Beaconsfield or Bourne End - or Swanage, in a more public location - would be the most appropriate sites for one or more official memorials to Enid, though of course there'd almost certainly be the backlash of "she was racist, she was sexist, she only wrote dumbed-down ephemera" etc. Strange how there doesn't seem to have been a backlash against Philip Larkin having a memorial in Westminster Abbey on the grounds that he was racist, misogynistic and obscene...
Larkin is being given a memorial in Westminster Abbey, because he's widely regarded as one of the greatest English poets of the 20th Century. His personality and political views have absolutely no relevance surely. And much as I would like to see Enid Blyton given an equally prominent memorial, it's unlikely she'll get one in Westminster Abbey anytime soon.
The only people immortalised in Poet's Corner who might be regarded primarily as children's authors are Lewis Carrol and Edward Lear I believe. Given the prevailing establishment view of Blyton she would have a fair amount of people ahead of her in the queue I would think. Beatrix Potter, Roald Dahl, Kenneth Grahame, E. E. Nesbit and J.R.R. Tolkein,just to name a few would all be regarded by those in charge as being more worthy of a place than Enid, sadly.
Re: Poets' Corner
Posted: 26 Jun 2015, 09:09
by Daisy
"Poet's Corner" seems to have quite an elastic interpretation then! That Enid wrote many poems is probably not widely known and I must agree with some others that Larkin's writings do not chime with my idea of real 'poetry' - but each to his own I guess!
Re: Poets' Corner
Posted: 26 Jun 2015, 09:18
by Anita Bensoussane
The name "Poets' Corner" has stuck but it's more of a "Literary Corner" really.
Re: Poets' Corner
Posted: 26 Jun 2015, 09:20
by Daisy
Yes, that does seem to be the case Anita. Was it originally meant just to honour poets I wonder?
Re: Poets' Corner
Posted: 26 Jun 2015, 09:24
by Anita Bensoussane
According to Wikipedia:
Poets' Corner is the name traditionally given to a section of the South Transept of Westminster Abbey because of the high number of poets, playwrights, and writers buried and commemorated there.
The first poet to be interred in Poets' Corner was Geoffrey Chaucer in 1556. Over the centuries, a tradition has grown up of interring or memorialising people there in recognition of their contribution to British culture. In the overwhelming majority of cases, the honour is awarded to writers...
...The first person interred, Geoffrey Chaucer, owed his burial there in 1400 more to his position as Clerk of Works of the Palace of Westminster than to his fame as a writer. The erection of his magnificent tomb, however, by Nicholas Brigham in 1556 (to where Chaucer's remains were then transferred) and the nearby burial of Edmund Spenser in 1599 started a tradition that is still upheld.
Re: Poets' Corner
Posted: 26 Jun 2015, 09:32
by Daisy
Thanks Anita. I'll have Nigel slapping my wrists for not Googling it!
Re: Poets' Corner
Posted: 26 Jun 2015, 09:38
by Courtenay
I would say the question some of us were raising earlier was not whether Philip Larkin should have a monument at all, but whether it's appropriate to have one to him in a
church. But then, there must be plenty of other questionable characters memorialised in churches, so it's probably better not to argue over it!
Interesting about the origins of Poet's Corner. I agree that it's unlikely Enid would be near the top of the list for future memorials there, but as we were discussing earlier, I'd certainly like to see a proper memorial to her in at least one of the places where she lived or that inspired her. Perhaps that will come some day.
Re: Poets' Corner
Posted: 26 Jun 2015, 09:46
by Rob Houghton
Courtenay wrote:I would say the question some of us were raising earlier was not whether Philip Larkin should have a monument at all, but whether it's appropriate to have one to him in a
church. But then, there must be plenty of other questionable characters memorialised in churches, so it's probably better not to argue over it!
.
Such as Chaucer - the guy who started Poets Corner?
mind you, I love Chaucer's ribaldry while Larkin is just plain crude.
I do think its a shame that there is no statue to Enid anywhere at all though - especially since her books are still consistently near the top of 'best books' lists such as the one WhSmith compiled recently.
Re: Poets' Corner
Posted: 26 Jun 2015, 11:08
by Courtenay
Yes, I was specifically thinking of Chaucer!
But as you say, there's funny-rude and just-plain-crude-rude, so to speak. Shakespeare too, of course, can be pretty ribald at times, but usually in an uproarious way, not a way that's merely out to shock or to be obscene for the sake of it.
I'd be happy to back any campaign to have a suitable memorial to Enid somewhere. Many other classic children's authors have a statue somewhere appropriate, either of themselves or of their most famous characters, or else some other kind of public memorial. Roald Dahl's home is open to the public, as is Rudyard Kipling's. J.M. Barrie has the statue of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. There's even a statue of Mary Poppins in her creator P.L. Travers' birthplace - that is, Maryborough, Queensland, Australia!
Re: Poets' Corner
Posted: 26 Jun 2015, 23:57
by walter raleigh
I was going to say Chaucer was far ruder than Larkin but I see as usual I was beaten to it.
As for wether he belongs in a church is another matter (although Westminster Abbey is a lot more than just "a church" of course!).
I'm sure that there are a number of folk immortalised in Poet's Corner who might be a little incongruous. For example if Lewis Carroll behaved the way he did in this day and age he'd probably be tarred and feathered or even lynched, let alone be rewarded with a memorial in one of Britains greatest monuments!
Re: Poets' Corner
Posted: 27 Jun 2015, 01:06
by Courtenay
walter raleigh wrote:
I'm sure that there are a number of folk immortalised in Poet's Corner who might be a little incongruous. For example if Lewis Carroll behaved the way he did in this day and age he'd probably be tarred and feathered or even lynched, let alone be rewarded with a memorial in one of Britains greatest monuments!
There was a thread some time ago that discussed allegations about the personal lives of other famous authors - I remember posting a link to an interesting article about Lewis Carroll there:
http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/foru ... 82#p218966" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I wonder how much opposition, if any, there would be to an Enid Blyton memorial in Beaconsfield, Bourne End, or any of the other places she was connected to? I still think a statue or sculpture of the Famous Five in Swanage would be a popular idea - they're probably her best known and most instantly recognisable characters. (Well, apart from Noddy, that is.
)
Re: Poets' Corner
Posted: 30 Jun 2015, 08:56
by Susan Webster
great idea! how about it guys --lets campaign for an enid blyto memorial in west minster abbey . that would be brilliant!
