- published: 16 Apr 2016
- views: 121
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James Fenton
Poet, Journalist, Literary Critic
"Those Whome We Admire," written for the occasion of the Presidential Inauguration of Joanne Berger-Sweeney at Trinity College (Hartford, Conn.)
www.trincoll.edu/inauguration
- published: 08 Dec 2014
- views: 881
A discussion about the life and work of author Christopher Hitchens with his friends and fellow authors: Salman Rushdie, Martin Amis, James Fenton & Ian McEwan.
April 13, 2012
Credit to Charlie Rose: http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/12297
- published: 21 Jul 2012
- views: 212052
The Skip
I took my life and threw it on the skip,
Reckoning the next-door neighbours wouldn't mind
If my life hitched a lift to the council tip
With their dry rot and rubble. What you find
With skips is - the whole community joins in.
Old mattresses appear, doors kind of drift
Along with all that won't fit in the bin
And what the bin-men can't be fished to shift.
I threw away my life, and there it lay
And grew quite sodden. `What a dreadful shame,'
Clucked some old bag and sucked her teeth: 'The way
The young these days ... no values ... me, I blame...'
But I blamed no one. Quality control
Had loused it up, and that was that.
'Nough said. I couldn't stick at home. I took a stroll
And passed the skip, and left my life for dead.
Without my life, the beer was just as foul,
The landlord still as filthy as his wife,
The chicken in the basket was an owl,
And no one said: `Ee, Jim-lad, whur's thee life?'
Well, I got back that night the worse for wear,
But still just capable of single vision ;
Looked in the skip; my life - it wasn't there!
Some bugger'd nicked it - without my permission.
Okay, so I got angry and began
To shout, and woke the street. Okay. Okay!
And I was sick all down the neighbour's van.
And I disgraced myself on the par-kay.
And then ... you know how if you've had a few
You'll wake at dawn, all healthy, like sea breezes,
Raring to go, and thinking: `Clever you!
You've got away with it.' And then, oh Jesus,
It hits you. Well, that morning, just at six
I woke, got up and looked down at the skip.
There lay my life, still sodden, on the bricks;
There lay my poor old life, arse over tip.
Or was it mine? Still dressed, I went downstairs
And took a long cool look. The truth was dawning.
Someone had just exchanged my life for theirs.
Poor fool, I thought - I should have left a warning.
Some bastard saw my life and thought it nicer
Than what he had. Yet what he'd had seemed fine.
He'd never caught his fingers in the slicer
The way I'd managed in that life of mine.
His life lay glistening in the rain, neglected,
Yet still a decent, an authentic life.
Some people I can think of, I reflected
Would take that thing as soon as you'd say Knife.
It seemed a shame to miss a chance like that.
I brought the life in, dried it by the stove.
It looked so fetching, stretched out on the mat.
I tried it on. It fitted, like a glove.
And now, when some local bat drops off the twig
And new folk take the house, and pull up floors
And knock down walls and hire some kind of big
Container (say, a skip) for their old doors,
I'll watch it like a hawk, and every day
I'll make at least - oh - half a dozen trips.
I've furnished an existence in that way.
You'd not believe the things you find on skips.
- published: 28 Nov 2011
- views: 15916
James Fenton, winner of the PEN Pinter Prize 2015, reads his poem 'Jerusalem' as part of an event at the British Library on 6 October 2015.
- published: 11 Oct 2015
- views: 252
A Contemporary poem by James Fenton (From the 'Relationships' cluster of 'Moon on the Tides' AQA GCSE Syllabus 2011
-Music by R.E.M. 'New Orleans Instrumental No. 1'
-Narration by Peter Mccartney
- published: 09 Mar 2011
- views: 18444
America and Britain are countries divided by a common language. I think Oscar Wilde said that, but I haven't checked. A girl told me she had spent a morning in New York trying to buy Drawing Pins. She visited several stores which looked as though they should stock them. Eventually out of exasperation she explained what she wanted them for. The sales girl said "Why don't you use thumbtacks?"
Figuratively, crumpet is a collective term for women considered as sexual snacks. Literally, a crumpet is a teacake usually toasted and buttered and possibly spread with jam or marmalade.
Pissed always means "drunk" in Britain - it never means "angry", but "pissed-off" means "disgruntled" or "frustrated".
Soteriology is the theological idea that finding Jesus will save your soul.
The Diet of Worms is just a joke in the poem. Its other meaning is one of several venues that took place at Worms, which is a town in Germany on the Rhine. Usually it means the one when Martin Luther answered to charges of heresies brought by the Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther prayed and fasted and answered honestly and bravely and when it became obvious that this wasn't going to work he ran away.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_of_Worms
Maybe he had heard the wise saying of the Indigenous American people - or whatever this week's politically-correct expression is for Red Indians - "If you meet a bear, do nothing. If that doesn't work, run away."
The painting is "The Eternal Father", 1570, by Paolo Veronese (Caliari)
- published: 19 Mar 2010
- views: 10116
James Fenton
James Martin Fenton FRSL FRSA (born 25 April 1949, Lincoln) is an English poet, journalist and literary critic. He is a former Oxford Professor of Poetry.
Life and career
Born in Lincoln, Fenton grew up in Lincolnshire and Staffordshire, the son of Canon John Fenton, a noted biblical scholar. He was educated at the Durham Choristers School, Repton and Magdalen College, Oxford. He graduated with a B.A. in 1970.
Fenton acquired at school an enthusiasm for the work of W.H. Auden. At Oxford John Fuller, who happened to be writing A Reader's Guide to W.H. Auden at the time, further encouraged that enthusiasm. Auden became possibly the greatest single influence on Fenton's own work.
In his first year at university Fenton won the Newdigate Prize for his sonnet sequence Our Western Furniture. Later published by Fuller's Sycamore Press, it largely concerns the cultural collision in the 19th century between the United States and Japan. It displays in embryo many of the characteristics that define Fenton's later work: technical mastery combined with a fascination with issues that arise from the Western interaction with other cultures. Our Western Furniture was followed by Exempla, notable for its frequent use of unfamiliar words, as well as commonplace words employed in an unfamiliar manner.
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia -
https://wn.com/James_Fenton
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
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95:41James Fenton Interview for The Paris Review
James Fenton Interview for The Paris ReviewJames Fenton Interview for The Paris Review
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3:24James Fenton: "Those Whom We Admire"
James Fenton: "Those Whom We Admire"James Fenton: "Those Whom We Admire"
James Fenton Poet, Journalist, Literary Critic "Those Whome We Admire," written for the occasion of the Presidential Inauguration of Joanne Berger-Sweeney at Trinity College (Hartford, Conn.) www.trincoll.edu/inauguration -
52:21A discussion about Christopher Hitchens [2012]
A discussion about Christopher Hitchens [2012]A discussion about Christopher Hitchens [2012]
A discussion about the life and work of author Christopher Hitchens with his friends and fellow authors: Salman Rushdie, Martin Amis, James Fenton & Ian McEwan. April 13, 2012 Credit to Charlie Rose: http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/12297 -
4:28The Skip - James Fenton
The Skip - James FentonThe Skip - James Fenton
The Skip I took my life and threw it on the skip, Reckoning the next-door neighbours wouldn't mind If my life hitched a lift to the council tip With their dry rot and rubble. What you find With skips is - the whole community joins in. Old mattresses appear, doors kind of drift Along with all that won't fit in the bin And what the bin-men can't be fished to shift. I threw away my life, and there it lay And grew quite sodden. `What a dreadful shame,' Clucked some old bag and sucked her teeth: 'The way The young these days ... no values ... me, I blame...' But I blamed no one. Quality control Had loused it up, and that was that. 'Nough said. I couldn't stick at home. I took a stroll And passed the skip, and left my life for dead. Without my life, the beer was just as foul, The landlord still as filthy as his wife, The chicken in the basket was an owl, And no one said: `Ee, Jim-lad, whur's thee life?' Well, I got back that night the worse for wear, But still just capable of single vision ; Looked in the skip; my life - it wasn't there! Some bugger'd nicked it - without my permission. Okay, so I got angry and began To shout, and woke the street. Okay. Okay! And I was sick all down the neighbour's van. And I disgraced myself on the par-kay. And then ... you know how if you've had a few You'll wake at dawn, all healthy, like sea breezes, Raring to go, and thinking: `Clever you! You've got away with it.' And then, oh Jesus, It hits you. Well, that morning, just at six I woke, got up and looked down at the skip. There lay my life, still sodden, on the bricks; There lay my poor old life, arse over tip. Or was it mine? Still dressed, I went downstairs And took a long cool look. The truth was dawning. Someone had just exchanged my life for theirs. Poor fool, I thought - I should have left a warning. Some bastard saw my life and thought it nicer Than what he had. Yet what he'd had seemed fine. He'd never caught his fingers in the slicer The way I'd managed in that life of mine. His life lay glistening in the rain, neglected, Yet still a decent, an authentic life. Some people I can think of, I reflected Would take that thing as soon as you'd say Knife. It seemed a shame to miss a chance like that. I brought the life in, dried it by the stove. It looked so fetching, stretched out on the mat. I tried it on. It fitted, like a glove. And now, when some local bat drops off the twig And new folk take the house, and pull up floors And knock down walls and hire some kind of big Container (say, a skip) for their old doors, I'll watch it like a hawk, and every day I'll make at least - oh - half a dozen trips. I've furnished an existence in that way. You'd not believe the things you find on skips. -
3:31James Fenton reads 'Jerusalem'
James Fenton reads 'Jerusalem'James Fenton reads 'Jerusalem'
James Fenton, winner of the PEN Pinter Prize 2015, reads his poem 'Jerusalem' as part of an event at the British Library on 6 October 2015. -
12:14James Fenton reads "Out of the East, "Blood and Lead" and "The Milk Fish Gatherers."
James Fenton reads "Out of the East, "Blood and Lead" and "The Milk Fish Gatherers."James Fenton reads "Out of the East, "Blood and Lead" and "The Milk Fish Gatherers."
http://92Y.org/Poetry - James Fenton reads "Out of the East, "Blood and Lead" and "The Milk Fish Gatherers", at 92Y on December 12, 2011. Follow 92Y on Facebook for exclusive content, photos, ticket giveaways and more: http://facebook.com/92ndStreetY -
1:30In Paris with You read by James Fenton
In Paris with You read by James FentonIn Paris with You read by James Fenton
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1:25James Fenton - For Andrew Wood
James Fenton - For Andrew Wood -
2:25In Paris With You- James Fenton
In Paris With You- James FentonIn Paris With You- James Fenton
A Contemporary poem by James Fenton (From the 'Relationships' cluster of 'Moon on the Tides' AQA GCSE Syllabus 2011 -Music by R.E.M. 'New Orleans Instrumental No. 1' -Narration by Peter Mccartney -
2:06"God, A Poem" by James Fenton (read by Tom O'Bedlam)
"God, A Poem" by James Fenton (read by Tom O'Bedlam)"God, A Poem" by James Fenton (read by Tom O'Bedlam)
America and Britain are countries divided by a common language. I think Oscar Wilde said that, but I haven't checked. A girl told me she had spent a morning in New York trying to buy Drawing Pins. She visited several stores which looked as though they should stock them. Eventually out of exasperation she explained what she wanted them for. The sales girl said "Why don't you use thumbtacks?" Figuratively, crumpet is a collective term for women considered as sexual snacks. Literally, a crumpet is a teacake usually toasted and buttered and possibly spread with jam or marmalade. Pissed always means "drunk" in Britain - it never means "angry", but "pissed-off" means "disgruntled" or "frustrated". Soteriology is the theological idea that finding Jesus will save your soul. The Diet of Worms is just a joke in the poem. Its other meaning is one of several venues that took place at Worms, which is a town in Germany on the Rhine. Usually it means the one when Martin Luther answered to charges of heresies brought by the Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther prayed and fasted and answered honestly and bravely and when it became obvious that this wasn't going to work he ran away. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_of_Worms Maybe he had heard the wise saying of the Indigenous American people - or whatever this week's politically-correct expression is for Red Indians - "If you meet a bear, do nothing. If that doesn't work, run away." The painting is "The Eternal Father", 1570, by Paolo Veronese (Caliari)
'James Fenton' is featured as a movie character in the following productions:
Eiszeit der Liebe (1967)
Actors: Hans Elwenspoek (actor), Harald Leipnitz (actor), Peter Weck (actor), Kurt Zips (actor), Helmut Pigge (writer), Imo Moszkowicz (director), Karin Eickelbaum (actress), Heinz-Leo Fischer (actor), Erika Remberg (actress), Peter Sandberg (writer), Mark Reed (writer),
Genres: Comedy,The Sign of the Spade (1916)
Actors: Murdock MacQuarrie (director), Harvey Clark (actor), Harvey Clark (actor), Allan Forrest (actor), George Gebhardt (actor), J.P. McGowan (producer), Clarence Burton (actor), Helene Rosson (actress), Kenneth B. Clarke (writer), Warren Ellsworth (actor), Robert Miller (actor),
Genres: Drama,Fenton, James Filmography
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1931, role: actor , character name: Roy
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1931, role: actor , character name: Dr. Rawlinson
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1930, role: actor , character name: Mr. Ansell
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1930, role: actor , character name: Solicitor - from 'The Price of Divorce'
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1929, role: actor , character name: Stinson
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1928, role: actor , character name: The Solicitor
Fenton, James Filmography
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2010, role: writer
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2005, role: writer
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2002, role: actor , character name: Himself - Reader
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2000, role: actor , character name: Himself
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2000, role: writer
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1995, role: actor , character name: Poet
Fenton, James Filmography
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2011, role: editor
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2010, role: editor
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2010, role: editor
Famous quotes by James Fenton:
"One does not become a guru by accident."
"The writing of a poem is like a child throwing stones into a mineshaft. You compose first, then you listen for the reverberation."
"Saigon was an addicted city, and we were the drug: the corruption of children, the mutilation of young men, the prostitution of women, the humiliation of the old, the division of the family, the division of the country-it had all been done in our name... The French city... had represented the opium stage of the addiction. With the Americans had begun the heroin phase."
"The lullaby is the spell whereby the mother attempts to transform herself back from an ogre to a saint."
"Those who actually set out to see the fall of a city or those who choose to go to a front line, are obviously asking themselves to what extent they are cowards. But the tests they set themselves / there is a dead body, can you bear to look at it? / are nothing in comparison with the tests that are sprung on them. It is not the obvious tests that matter (do you go to pieces in a mortar attack?) but the unexpected ones (here is a man on the run, seeking your help / can you face him honestly?)."
"When Mr Ackroyd says that in the 18th century, stranglers bit off the noses of their victims, I feel that he probably knows what he is talking about. I just wish he hadn't told me."
"Imitation, if it is not forgery, is a fine thing. It stems from a generous impulse, and a realistic sense of what can and cannot be done."
"It has to be displayed, this face, on a more or less horizontal plane. Imagine a man wearing a mask, and imagine that the elastic which holds the mask on has just broken, so that the man (rather than let the mask slip off) has to tilt his head back and balance the mask on his real face. This is the kind of tyranny which Lawson's face exerts over the rest of his body as he cruises along the corridors. He doesn't look down his nose at you, he looks along his nose."
-
James Fenton Interview for The Paris Review
published: 16 Apr 2016 -
James Fenton: "Those Whom We Admire"
James Fenton Poet, Journalist, Literary Critic "Those Whome We Admire," written for the occasion of the Presidential Inauguration of Joanne Berger-Sweeney at Trinity College (Hartford, Conn.) www.trincoll.edu/inauguration
published: 08 Dec 2014 -
A discussion about Christopher Hitchens [2012]
A discussion about the life and work of author Christopher Hitchens with his friends and fellow authors: Salman Rushdie, Martin Amis, James Fenton & Ian McEwan. April 13, 2012 Credit to Charlie Rose: http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/12297
published: 21 Jul 2012 -
The Skip - James Fenton
The Skip I took my life and threw it on the skip, Reckoning the next-door neighbours wouldn't mind If my life hitched a lift to the council tip With their dry rot and rubble. What you find With skips is - the whole community joins in. Old mattresses appear, doors kind of drift Along with all that won't fit in the bin And what the bin-men can't be fished to shift. I threw away my life, and there it lay And grew quite sodden. `What a dreadful shame,' Clucked some old bag and sucked her teeth: 'The way The young these days ... no values ... me, I blame...' But I blamed no one. Quality control Had loused it up, and that was that. 'Nough said. I couldn't stick at home. I took a stroll And passed the skip, and left my life for dead. Without my life, the beer was just as foul, The landlord s...
published: 28 Nov 2011 -
James Fenton reads 'Jerusalem'
James Fenton, winner of the PEN Pinter Prize 2015, reads his poem 'Jerusalem' as part of an event at the British Library on 6 October 2015.
published: 11 Oct 2015 -
James Fenton reads "Out of the East, "Blood and Lead" and "The Milk Fish Gatherers."
http://92Y.org/Poetry - James Fenton reads "Out of the East, "Blood and Lead" and "The Milk Fish Gatherers", at 92Y on December 12, 2011. Follow 92Y on Facebook for exclusive content, photos, ticket giveaways and more: http://facebook.com/92ndStreetY
published: 09 Mar 2012 -
In Paris with You read by James Fenton
published: 15 May 2013 -
-
In Paris With You- James Fenton
A Contemporary poem by James Fenton (From the 'Relationships' cluster of 'Moon on the Tides' AQA GCSE Syllabus 2011 -Music by R.E.M. 'New Orleans Instrumental No. 1' -Narration by Peter Mccartney
published: 09 Mar 2011 -
"God, A Poem" by James Fenton (read by Tom O'Bedlam)
America and Britain are countries divided by a common language. I think Oscar Wilde said that, but I haven't checked. A girl told me she had spent a morning in New York trying to buy Drawing Pins. She visited several stores which looked as though they should stock them. Eventually out of exasperation she explained what she wanted them for. The sales girl said "Why don't you use thumbtacks?" Figuratively, crumpet is a collective term for women considered as sexual snacks. Literally, a crumpet is a teacake usually toasted and buttered and possibly spread with jam or marmalade. Pissed always means "drunk" in Britain - it never means "angry", but "pissed-off" means "disgruntled" or "frustrated". Soteriology is the theological idea that finding Jesus will save your soul. The Diet o...
published: 19 Mar 2010
James Fenton Interview for The Paris Review
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 95:41
- Updated: 16 Apr 2016
- views: 121
- published: 16 Apr 2016
- views: 121
James Fenton: "Those Whom We Admire"
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:24
- Updated: 08 Dec 2014
- views: 881
James Fenton
Poet, Journalist, Literary Critic
"Those Whome We Admire," written for the occasion of the Presidential Inauguration of Joanne Berger-Sweeney at Tr...
James Fenton
Poet, Journalist, Literary Critic
"Those Whome We Admire," written for the occasion of the Presidential Inauguration of Joanne Berger-Sweeney at Trinity College (Hartford, Conn.)
www.trincoll.edu/inauguration
wn.com/James Fenton Those Whom We Admire
James Fenton
Poet, Journalist, Literary Critic
"Those Whome We Admire," written for the occasion of the Presidential Inauguration of Joanne Berger-Sweeney at Trinity College (Hartford, Conn.)
www.trincoll.edu/inauguration
- published: 08 Dec 2014
- views: 881
A discussion about Christopher Hitchens [2012]
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 52:21
- Updated: 21 Jul 2012
- views: 212052
A discussion about the life and work of author Christopher Hitchens with his friends and fellow authors: Salman Rushdie, Martin Amis, James Fenton & Ian McEwan....
A discussion about the life and work of author Christopher Hitchens with his friends and fellow authors: Salman Rushdie, Martin Amis, James Fenton & Ian McEwan.
April 13, 2012
Credit to Charlie Rose: http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/12297
wn.com/A Discussion About Christopher Hitchens 2012
A discussion about the life and work of author Christopher Hitchens with his friends and fellow authors: Salman Rushdie, Martin Amis, James Fenton & Ian McEwan.
April 13, 2012
Credit to Charlie Rose: http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/12297
- published: 21 Jul 2012
- views: 212052
The Skip - James Fenton
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:28
- Updated: 28 Nov 2011
- views: 15916
The Skip
I took my life and threw it on the skip,
Reckoning the next-door neighbours wouldn't mind
If my life hitched a lift to the council tip
With their dry ...
The Skip
I took my life and threw it on the skip,
Reckoning the next-door neighbours wouldn't mind
If my life hitched a lift to the council tip
With their dry rot and rubble. What you find
With skips is - the whole community joins in.
Old mattresses appear, doors kind of drift
Along with all that won't fit in the bin
And what the bin-men can't be fished to shift.
I threw away my life, and there it lay
And grew quite sodden. `What a dreadful shame,'
Clucked some old bag and sucked her teeth: 'The way
The young these days ... no values ... me, I blame...'
But I blamed no one. Quality control
Had loused it up, and that was that.
'Nough said. I couldn't stick at home. I took a stroll
And passed the skip, and left my life for dead.
Without my life, the beer was just as foul,
The landlord still as filthy as his wife,
The chicken in the basket was an owl,
And no one said: `Ee, Jim-lad, whur's thee life?'
Well, I got back that night the worse for wear,
But still just capable of single vision ;
Looked in the skip; my life - it wasn't there!
Some bugger'd nicked it - without my permission.
Okay, so I got angry and began
To shout, and woke the street. Okay. Okay!
And I was sick all down the neighbour's van.
And I disgraced myself on the par-kay.
And then ... you know how if you've had a few
You'll wake at dawn, all healthy, like sea breezes,
Raring to go, and thinking: `Clever you!
You've got away with it.' And then, oh Jesus,
It hits you. Well, that morning, just at six
I woke, got up and looked down at the skip.
There lay my life, still sodden, on the bricks;
There lay my poor old life, arse over tip.
Or was it mine? Still dressed, I went downstairs
And took a long cool look. The truth was dawning.
Someone had just exchanged my life for theirs.
Poor fool, I thought - I should have left a warning.
Some bastard saw my life and thought it nicer
Than what he had. Yet what he'd had seemed fine.
He'd never caught his fingers in the slicer
The way I'd managed in that life of mine.
His life lay glistening in the rain, neglected,
Yet still a decent, an authentic life.
Some people I can think of, I reflected
Would take that thing as soon as you'd say Knife.
It seemed a shame to miss a chance like that.
I brought the life in, dried it by the stove.
It looked so fetching, stretched out on the mat.
I tried it on. It fitted, like a glove.
And now, when some local bat drops off the twig
And new folk take the house, and pull up floors
And knock down walls and hire some kind of big
Container (say, a skip) for their old doors,
I'll watch it like a hawk, and every day
I'll make at least - oh - half a dozen trips.
I've furnished an existence in that way.
You'd not believe the things you find on skips.
wn.com/The Skip James Fenton
The Skip
I took my life and threw it on the skip,
Reckoning the next-door neighbours wouldn't mind
If my life hitched a lift to the council tip
With their dry rot and rubble. What you find
With skips is - the whole community joins in.
Old mattresses appear, doors kind of drift
Along with all that won't fit in the bin
And what the bin-men can't be fished to shift.
I threw away my life, and there it lay
And grew quite sodden. `What a dreadful shame,'
Clucked some old bag and sucked her teeth: 'The way
The young these days ... no values ... me, I blame...'
But I blamed no one. Quality control
Had loused it up, and that was that.
'Nough said. I couldn't stick at home. I took a stroll
And passed the skip, and left my life for dead.
Without my life, the beer was just as foul,
The landlord still as filthy as his wife,
The chicken in the basket was an owl,
And no one said: `Ee, Jim-lad, whur's thee life?'
Well, I got back that night the worse for wear,
But still just capable of single vision ;
Looked in the skip; my life - it wasn't there!
Some bugger'd nicked it - without my permission.
Okay, so I got angry and began
To shout, and woke the street. Okay. Okay!
And I was sick all down the neighbour's van.
And I disgraced myself on the par-kay.
And then ... you know how if you've had a few
You'll wake at dawn, all healthy, like sea breezes,
Raring to go, and thinking: `Clever you!
You've got away with it.' And then, oh Jesus,
It hits you. Well, that morning, just at six
I woke, got up and looked down at the skip.
There lay my life, still sodden, on the bricks;
There lay my poor old life, arse over tip.
Or was it mine? Still dressed, I went downstairs
And took a long cool look. The truth was dawning.
Someone had just exchanged my life for theirs.
Poor fool, I thought - I should have left a warning.
Some bastard saw my life and thought it nicer
Than what he had. Yet what he'd had seemed fine.
He'd never caught his fingers in the slicer
The way I'd managed in that life of mine.
His life lay glistening in the rain, neglected,
Yet still a decent, an authentic life.
Some people I can think of, I reflected
Would take that thing as soon as you'd say Knife.
It seemed a shame to miss a chance like that.
I brought the life in, dried it by the stove.
It looked so fetching, stretched out on the mat.
I tried it on. It fitted, like a glove.
And now, when some local bat drops off the twig
And new folk take the house, and pull up floors
And knock down walls and hire some kind of big
Container (say, a skip) for their old doors,
I'll watch it like a hawk, and every day
I'll make at least - oh - half a dozen trips.
I've furnished an existence in that way.
You'd not believe the things you find on skips.
- published: 28 Nov 2011
- views: 15916
James Fenton reads 'Jerusalem'
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:31
- Updated: 11 Oct 2015
- views: 252
James Fenton, winner of the PEN Pinter Prize 2015, reads his poem 'Jerusalem' as part of an event at the British Library on 6 October 2015.
James Fenton, winner of the PEN Pinter Prize 2015, reads his poem 'Jerusalem' as part of an event at the British Library on 6 October 2015.
wn.com/James Fenton Reads 'Jerusalem'
James Fenton, winner of the PEN Pinter Prize 2015, reads his poem 'Jerusalem' as part of an event at the British Library on 6 October 2015.
- published: 11 Oct 2015
- views: 252
James Fenton reads "Out of the East, "Blood and Lead" and "The Milk Fish Gatherers."
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 12:14
- Updated: 09 Mar 2012
- views: 3565
http://92Y.org/Poetry - James Fenton reads "Out of the East, "Blood and Lead" and "The Milk Fish Gatherers", at 92Y on December 12, 2011.
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http://92Y.org/Poetry - James Fenton reads "Out of the East, "Blood and Lead" and "The Milk Fish Gatherers", at 92Y on December 12, 2011.
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wn.com/James Fenton Reads Out Of The East, Blood And Lead And The Milk Fish Gatherers.
In Paris with You read by James Fenton
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:30
- Updated: 15 May 2013
- views: 2899
- published: 15 May 2013
- views: 2899
James Fenton - For Andrew Wood
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:25
- Updated: 12 May 2012
- views: 7647
Fenton at the Vanity Fair Hitchens memorial.
Fenton at the Vanity Fair Hitchens memorial.
wn.com/James Fenton For Andrew Wood
In Paris With You- James Fenton
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:25
- Updated: 09 Mar 2011
- views: 18444
A Contemporary poem by James Fenton (From the 'Relationships' cluster of 'Moon on the Tides' AQA GCSE Syllabus 2011
-Music by R.E.M. 'New Orleans Instrumental ...
A Contemporary poem by James Fenton (From the 'Relationships' cluster of 'Moon on the Tides' AQA GCSE Syllabus 2011
-Music by R.E.M. 'New Orleans Instrumental No. 1'
-Narration by Peter Mccartney
wn.com/In Paris With You James Fenton
A Contemporary poem by James Fenton (From the 'Relationships' cluster of 'Moon on the Tides' AQA GCSE Syllabus 2011
-Music by R.E.M. 'New Orleans Instrumental No. 1'
-Narration by Peter Mccartney
- published: 09 Mar 2011
- views: 18444
"God, A Poem" by James Fenton (read by Tom O'Bedlam)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:06
- Updated: 19 Mar 2010
- views: 10116
America and Britain are countries divided by a common language. I think Oscar Wilde said that, but I haven't checked. A girl told me she had spent a morning i...
America and Britain are countries divided by a common language. I think Oscar Wilde said that, but I haven't checked. A girl told me she had spent a morning in New York trying to buy Drawing Pins. She visited several stores which looked as though they should stock them. Eventually out of exasperation she explained what she wanted them for. The sales girl said "Why don't you use thumbtacks?"
Figuratively, crumpet is a collective term for women considered as sexual snacks. Literally, a crumpet is a teacake usually toasted and buttered and possibly spread with jam or marmalade.
Pissed always means "drunk" in Britain - it never means "angry", but "pissed-off" means "disgruntled" or "frustrated".
Soteriology is the theological idea that finding Jesus will save your soul.
The Diet of Worms is just a joke in the poem. Its other meaning is one of several venues that took place at Worms, which is a town in Germany on the Rhine. Usually it means the one when Martin Luther answered to charges of heresies brought by the Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther prayed and fasted and answered honestly and bravely and when it became obvious that this wasn't going to work he ran away.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_of_Worms
Maybe he had heard the wise saying of the Indigenous American people - or whatever this week's politically-correct expression is for Red Indians - "If you meet a bear, do nothing. If that doesn't work, run away."
The painting is "The Eternal Father", 1570, by Paolo Veronese (Caliari)
wn.com/God, A Poem By James Fenton (Read By Tom O'Bedlam)
America and Britain are countries divided by a common language. I think Oscar Wilde said that, but I haven't checked. A girl told me she had spent a morning in New York trying to buy Drawing Pins. She visited several stores which looked as though they should stock them. Eventually out of exasperation she explained what she wanted them for. The sales girl said "Why don't you use thumbtacks?"
Figuratively, crumpet is a collective term for women considered as sexual snacks. Literally, a crumpet is a teacake usually toasted and buttered and possibly spread with jam or marmalade.
Pissed always means "drunk" in Britain - it never means "angry", but "pissed-off" means "disgruntled" or "frustrated".
Soteriology is the theological idea that finding Jesus will save your soul.
The Diet of Worms is just a joke in the poem. Its other meaning is one of several venues that took place at Worms, which is a town in Germany on the Rhine. Usually it means the one when Martin Luther answered to charges of heresies brought by the Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther prayed and fasted and answered honestly and bravely and when it became obvious that this wasn't going to work he ran away.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_of_Worms
Maybe he had heard the wise saying of the Indigenous American people - or whatever this week's politically-correct expression is for Red Indians - "If you meet a bear, do nothing. If that doesn't work, run away."
The painting is "The Eternal Father", 1570, by Paolo Veronese (Caliari)
- published: 19 Mar 2010
- views: 10116
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95:41
James Fenton Interview for The Paris Review
published: 16 Apr 2016
James Fenton Interview for The Paris Review
James Fenton Interview for The Paris Review
- Report rights infringement
- published: 16 Apr 2016
- views: 121
3:24
James Fenton: "Those Whom We Admire"
James Fenton
Poet, Journalist, Literary Critic
"Those Whome We Admire," written for the oc...
published: 08 Dec 2014
James Fenton: "Those Whom We Admire"
James Fenton: "Those Whom We Admire"
- Report rights infringement
- published: 08 Dec 2014
- views: 881
52:21
A discussion about Christopher Hitchens [2012]
A discussion about the life and work of author Christopher Hitchens with his friends and f...
published: 21 Jul 2012
A discussion about Christopher Hitchens [2012]
A discussion about Christopher Hitchens [2012]
- Report rights infringement
- published: 21 Jul 2012
- views: 212052
4:28
The Skip - James Fenton
The Skip
I took my life and threw it on the skip,
Reckoning the next-door neighbours woul...
published: 28 Nov 2011
The Skip - James Fenton
The Skip - James Fenton
- Report rights infringement
- published: 28 Nov 2011
- views: 15916
3:31
James Fenton reads 'Jerusalem'
James Fenton, winner of the PEN Pinter Prize 2015, reads his poem 'Jerusalem' as part of a...
published: 11 Oct 2015
James Fenton reads 'Jerusalem'
James Fenton reads 'Jerusalem'
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- published: 11 Oct 2015
- views: 252
12:14
James Fenton reads "Out of the East, "Blood and Lead" and "The Milk Fish Gatherers."
http://92Y.org/Poetry - James Fenton reads "Out of the East, "Blood and Lead" and "The Mil...
published: 09 Mar 2012
James Fenton reads "Out of the East, "Blood and Lead" and "The Milk Fish Gatherers."
James Fenton reads "Out of the East, "Blood and Lead" and "The Milk Fish Gatherers."
- Report rights infringement
- published: 09 Mar 2012
- views: 3565
1:30
In Paris with You read by James Fenton
published: 15 May 2013
In Paris with You read by James Fenton
In Paris with You read by James Fenton
- Report rights infringement
- published: 15 May 2013
- views: 2899
1:25
James Fenton - For Andrew Wood
Fenton at the Vanity Fair Hitchens memorial.
published: 12 May 2012
James Fenton - For Andrew Wood
James Fenton - For Andrew Wood
- Report rights infringement
- published: 12 May 2012
- views: 7647
2:25
In Paris With You- James Fenton
A Contemporary poem by James Fenton (From the 'Relationships' cluster of 'Moon on the Tide...
published: 09 Mar 2011
In Paris With You- James Fenton
In Paris With You- James Fenton
- Report rights infringement
- published: 09 Mar 2011
- views: 18444
2:06
"God, A Poem" by James Fenton (read by Tom O'Bedlam)
America and Britain are countries divided by a common language. I think Oscar Wilde said ...
published: 19 Mar 2010
"God, A Poem" by James Fenton (read by Tom O'Bedlam)
"God, A Poem" by James Fenton (read by Tom O'Bedlam)
- Report rights infringement
- published: 19 Mar 2010
- views: 10116
James Fenton Interview for The Paris Review...
James Fenton: "Those Whom We Admire"...
![A discussion about Christopher Hitchens [2012]](http://web.archive.org./web/20161003025613/https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HnVzWjmpilU/0.jpg)
A discussion about Christopher Hitchens [2012]...
The Skip - James Fenton...
James Fenton reads 'Jerusalem'...
James Fenton reads "Out of the East, "Blood and Le...
In Paris with You read by James Fenton...
James Fenton - For Andrew Wood...
In Paris With You- James Fenton...
"God, A Poem" by James Fenton (read by Tom O'Bedla...
photo: AP / OMN
52 confirmed dead in stampede at Ethiopia religious event
Edit Boston Herald 02 Oct 2016
BISHOFTU, Ethiopia — Dozens of people were crushed to death Sunday in a stampede after police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse an anti-government protest that grew out of a massive religious festival, witnesses said. The Oromia regional government confirmed the death toll at 52. "I almost died in that place today," said one shaken protester who gave his name only as Elias ... The first to fall in had suffocated, he said ... ....
photo: Public Domain
Woman Gives Birth To One Of The Biggest Babies Ever Born (Photos)
Edit Opposing Views 02 Oct 2016
A British mother recounted her story of giving birth to one of the country's largest babies to be born naturally. Charlotte Hawthorn from Wirral, England, gave birth to Rory, who at 12-pounds, 7-ounces, weighed approximately twice as much as most newborns. "I planned a natural delivery not knowing he was going to be twice the size of most newborns," Hawthorn said. "He is gorgeous, we call him our little hunky chunky." ... ....
photo: AP / Peter Dejong
Australia says MH17 missile suspects might be confirmed by year-end
Edit Deccan Chronicle 02 Oct 2016
Sydney. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on Sunday the names of those responsible for shooting down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014 might be confirmed by the end of the year ... ....
photo: US Navy / Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class William Ramsey
Philippines Leader to End Military Exercises, Naval Patrols With U.S.
Edit Topix 02 Oct 2016
Mr Duterte will fly to Vietnam today, and arrangements are being made for him to visit China and Japan by end-October. Mr. Duterte has said he won't surrender the legal victory the Philippines won in July before an global tribunal in The Hague that dismissed China's claims to ownership and economic rights over most of the South China Sea ... ....
photo: WN / Yolanda Leyba
Beware! Facebook will disable your account if you share this cat photo
Edit BGR 02 Oct 2016
It is hard to believe, but it is true! This innocent little cat photo can lead to your Facebook accounts being flagged almost instantly. It would not be wrong to say that more than half of the internet is made of cat videos and pictures. Personally, when I am not using the internet for work, I am just always watching and sharing animal videos ... I opened the Facebook app and that said Session time out and asked me to login again ... ....
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LeBron James, the most influential person in the major swing state of Ohio, endorses Hillary Clinton
Edit Business Insider 03 Oct 2016
LeBron James at an event for his Akron, Ohio-based philanthropy, the LeBron James Family Foundation. James has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. LeBron James has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president ... In the op-ed, James wrote that his endorsement decision came down to a few factors ... Clinton, James said, is also the best candidate to carry out President Barack Obama's legacy ... James calls Obama a "good friend."....
LeBron James: Why I'm endorsing Hillary Clinton
Edit AOL 03 Oct 2016
Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James is endorsing Hillary Clinton for president ... When I entered the league, I founded the LeBron James Family Foundation ... LeBron James reveals whether he'll stand for the national anthem ... See photos of LeBron James. ... LeBron James through the years ... LeBron James through the years ... NBA draft candidate LeBron James answers reporters' questions in Chicago, Sunday, June 8, 2003 ... James had 23 points for the game....
LeBron James endorses Hillary Clinton
Edit The Oklahoman 03 Oct 2016
Lebron James, the three-time NBA champion and four-time NBA most valuable player, endorsed Hillary Clinton on Sunday. James, in an op-ed posted by Business Insider, wrote that he backs Clinton because "she will build on the legacy of my good friend, President Barack Obama ... James writes....
LeBron James endorses Hillary Clinton in online letter on Business Insider and in Monday’s Beacon Journal
Edit Akron Beacon Journal 03 Oct 2016
LeBron James has pretty much stayed above the political fray in his NBA career ... James is throwing his name and hard-earned reputation as one of the best, if not the best, athlete in the world behind Hillary Clinton ... The 849-word letter is typical James and reminiscent of his missive in Sports Illustrated when he announced he was returning home from Miami to once again wear a Cavs uniform....
LeBron James endorses Hillary Clinton in online column on Business Insider and in Monday’s Beacon Journal
Edit Akron Beacon Journal 03 Oct 2016
LeBron James has pretty much stayed above the political fray in his NBA career ... James is throwing his name and hard-earned reputation as one of the best, if not the best, athlete in the world behind Hillary Clinton ... The 849-word column is typical James and reminiscent of his missive in Sports Illustrated when he announced he was returning home from Miami to once again wear a Cavs uniform....
LeBron James just endorsed Hillary Clinton for president
Edit Mashable 03 Oct 2016
LeBron James, the four-time NBA MVP and three-time champion, hopes Hillary Clinton will take her talents to the White House in January ... James spends the first half of his op-ed discussing a major goal of his return to the Cavaliers in 2014 — helping underprivileged kids in the area ... In a move that was surely coordinated, Clinton will be in Akron — James' hometown — on Monday....
LeBron endorses Hillary
Edit Politico 03 Oct 2016
Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James endorsed Hillary Clinton Sunday evening, the day before the Democratic nominee is scheduled to visit James' Ohio hometown of Akron, campaigning on the economy ... "When I look at this year’s presidential race, it’s clear which candidate believes the same thing," James wrote....
HBO's new show 'Westworld' subtly pokes fun at James Marsden never getting the girl in any movie
Edit Business Insider 03 Oct 2016
The show stars Evan Rachel Wood and James Marsden as two of the park's bots ... "Those times James Marsden was 'The Nice Guy' and it never paid off," "Will James Marsden finally get the girl in a Nicholas Sparks movie?," and "5 reasons why James Marsden never gets the girl." ... James Marsden with Dolores, his robot lady love ... James Marsden's "Westworld" character is even too perfect for people in a fictional world....
LeBron James Endorses Hillary Clinton, Message of ‘Hope and Unity That We Need’
Edit The Wrap 03 Oct 2016
Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James announced Sunday his endorsement of Hillary Clinton for president ... “I am determined to make sure my kids in Akron have what they need to become their best selves,” James writes ... When James entered the NBA, he founded the LeBron James Family Foundation, which gives kids in Akron the resources and opportunities they need to stay in school and reach their dreams through education....
The Latest: NBA star, Ohio native LeBron James backs Clinton
Edit Colorado Springs Gazette 03 Oct 2016
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the presidential race between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton (EDT).. 8.40 p.m. Basketball star and Ohio native LeBron James is endorsing Hillary Clinton for president. James says Clinton is a "champion for children and their futures." ... James detailed his support for Clinton in an op-ed in Business Insider and the Akron Beacon Journal ... Read more on Colorado Springs Gazette ... ....
Pandals gobble up road space, not enough cops to man traffic
Edit The Times of India 03 Oct 2016
But from Taratala to his home in Thakurpukur, it takes him close to one-and-a-half hours even if he takes James Long Sarani, which runs parallel to Diamond Harbour Road ... Be it DH Road or James Long Sarani, traffic does not move in any of the roads in the evening," said Basu. James Long Sarani plays host to five different Pujas ... "Traffic on James Long ......
Anderson wins but Thornton is out
Edit Sporting Life 03 Oct 2016
More to follow...Sunday's Results & Monday Schedule. Sunday October 2. First Round. Best of three sets. Kyle Anderson 2-1 Cristo Reyes ... James Wade (6) 1-2 Terry Jenkins ... Monday October 3 (7pm) ... Mick McGowan v James Wilson ... ....
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