Tag Archives: Iliad

Merkel; The Great Escaper

Posted on October 11, 2023 by Houyhnhnm

Merkel I think this was my first Curzon film watched at home. A pretty straightforward documentary about Merkel’s life and career, broadly uncritical/hagiographic. The Great Escaper A pretty straightforward biopic telling the true story of a D-Day veteran who missed … Continue reading →

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rodin and the ancient greeks, & the iliad

Posted on May 20, 2018 by Houyhnhnm

rodin and the ancient greeks i didn’t realise that rodin spent a lot of time in london, and that he kept visiting the british museum to see the elgin marbles and other greek sculpture; it seems (at least according to … Continue reading →

Posted in Exhibition, Novel, Poem, Translation | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

“The Illustrated Man” by Ray Bradbury

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Houyhnhnm

My first Ray Bradbury. Fascinating. As stories go they are like others I’ve read: really intriguing ideas, strong atmospheres, but ending weakly, either flattish, or with an ending that isn’t supposed to be obvious but is, kind of. Not that … Continue reading →

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“McCool” by Aidan Andrew Dun

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Houyhnhnm

With Aidan’s poetry I’m always amazed at what I was trying to get at when writing about Unholyland but didn’t nail. Trying again now, after reading Aidan’s two Middle-Eastern verse epics in the wrong order. What it is is a … Continue reading →

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Oedipus at Colonus (King’s College production and subsequent rereading)

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Houyhnhnm

After seeing King’s College do this in Greek last week I thought I’d read this, for the first time in 30 years. Quite different from what I’d remembered, and from what I’d told the kids on the train, and, strangely, … Continue reading →

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“The Song of Achilles” by Madeline Miller

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Houyhnhnm

A fascinating attempt to novelise the Iliad, taking the material beyond the confines of Homer’s poem, both before and after, but not falling into the trap of having to tell the whole bloody story in detail, wooden horse and all … Continue reading →

Posted in Novel | Tagged , , | 1 Comment