Ider: Late to the World review – the glorious sound of letting go
Perhaps there's a touch too much therapy speak, but as the pair have pointed out, that's how so many of us navigate the world now. And they're generally very good at covering tricky topics in their songs, gilded with generous charm. Disordered eating, abortion rights and a wide range of shady male behaviours are eyeballed. 'I wanna throw your shit in the middle of the street… Delete the files of your solo EP,' they threaten on the darkly hilarious You Don't Know How to Drive. As always with Ider, you believe every word.
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Spectator
3 hours ago
- Spectator
The enigma of C.P. Cavafy
C.P. Cavafy, who had a very high opinion of his own work, would no doubt be gratified to learn that he is now one of the most admired poets of the 20th century. This is all the more remarkable because during his lifetime (1863-1933) he did not allow a single volume of his poetry to be published, preferring to circulate privately printed sheets and pamphlets among his admirers. He was also disinclined to co-operate with those who wanted to translate the poems from their original Greek into other languages; but in English alone there have now been more than 30 different volumes of his complete or selected poems. Even so, there has been no English language biography since Robert Liddell's, published more than 50 years ago, which makes this new and extremely thorough account of the poet's life, work and posthumous reputation especially welcome. Cavafy was born into a prosperous Anglo-Greek family of merchants in Alexandria. But his pampered childhood came to an abrupt end at the age of seven when his father died young, leaving a widow, seven children and a severely depleted estate. He nevertheless enjoyed a cosmopolitan upbringing in Liverpool, London and Constantinople before he returned permanently to the city of his birth in his early twenties. Obliged to find employment, he became a clerk with the irrigation service, where he remained for 30 years. The job was dull but not particularly onerous, since his working hours were 8 a.m. to 1.30 p.m., leaving him the afternoon and evening to do his writing. As a young man Cavafy had enjoyed exploring Alexandria, its streets and parks and bars and shops, wonderfully brought to life by Peter Jeffreys and Gregory Jusdanis; but in later years he spent much of his time secluded in his flat at 10 Lepsius Street, above a brothel in a down-at-heel area of the city. It was to this flat that E.M. Forster came in 1916 while doing war service in Egypt with the Red Cross. Forster would be the first person to introduce Cavafy's work to English readers. A perceptive and affectionate article, which included translations of three poems and extracts from two others, was published in the Athenaeum in April 1919 and reached a larger audience when it was reprinted in Pharos and Pharillon (1923) with the additional translation of what became one of Cavafy's most celebrated poems, 'The God Abandons Antony'. Forster had no doubt been drawn to Cavafy because of their shared homosexuality. Although extremely circumspect in his personal life, Cavafy felt able to admit in a poem that 'In the dissolute life of my youth/ The designs of my poetry took shape,/ the territories of my art took form'. He nevertheless complained that the 'wretched laws of society have inhibited my expressiveness', something Forster well understood, having recently completed his homosexual novel Maurice, which he felt unable to publish but which he circulated in manuscript among sympathetic friends. Society's laws notwithstanding, Cavafy would go on to make homosexual encounters in what the authors call the 'idealised anonymous realm' of Alexandria, 'where not even the young men have names', a principal subject of his poems, which is one of the reasons his work feels so ahead of its time. The other element of Cavafy's poetry that made it modern was the seemingly casual but in fact meticulously crafted language he employed – a mixture of contemporary demotic Greek and the literary and archaised form katharevousa. This means the poems are tricky to translate, since Cavafy's carefully deployed distinction between the two modes is difficult to render in other languages. When not writing about fleeting homosexual experiences, Cavafy drew upon his deep knowledge of history to create poems featuring otherwise forgotten people and events from the ancient world. The unifying theme of his poetry is the depredations of time: the decline and collapse of civilisations, the transience of physical beauty, the sensual pleasures of youth sorrowfully recalled in old age. Time itself sometimes collapses, as in 'Caesarion', where Antony and Cleopatra's doomed eldest son, imagined as a beautiful youth, materialises in the penumbra of the poet's candle-lit flat. There is also a literary and sexual continuity between the ancient and modern worlds in the way the young men Cavafy recalls from his own past have the physical attributes of classical Greek statuary but are otherwise absolutely contemporary, with unrewarding jobs, shabby suits and 'mended underwear'. Jeffreys and Jusdanis have chosen to arrange their biography thematically rather than chronologically, 'focusing on key topics', which include Alexandria, Cavafy's family, his friendships, his poetry and the dissemination and promotion of his work. This has its problems, leading to occasional repetitions and to the delayed arrival of useful information. For example, we learn in an early chapter titled 'Trauma, Exile and Loss' that it was 'the bombardment of Alexandria' that forced the family to leave the city in 1882, but what that bombardment was and what caused it is not explained until more than 100 pages later in a chapter about the city's history. In addition, information that should have been integrated into the text is sometimes relegated to the endnotes, as in the account of the silences around Cavafy's sexuality. The distinction between facts and speculation is occasionally blurred: an older sibling, Paul, is first described as one of the family's two 'homosexual brothers', then as 'reputedly homosexual', an endnote adding 'the source for this is based on innuendo and rumour propagated by Dimitris Garoufalias', which hardly sounds authoritative. Perhaps excusably, poems are sometimes referred to but not quoted, which means that it is essential to have an edition of the poems to hand – ideally Daniel Mendelsohn's superb translation of the Complete Poems, which includes unfinished and 'repudiated' works. These caveats aside, this is a richly detailed and clear-sighted account of Cavafy's life and work, not afraid to lay bare the poet's occasionally brutal dismissal of those who considered themselves his friends (shades of Benjamin Britten) and his 'ruthless self-promotion'. Above all, it sends one back to Cavafy's extraordinary body of poems both enlightened and newly enthused.
Scotsman
8 hours ago
- Scotsman
The Quiet Ear, by Raymond Antrobus review: 'a book about "betweenness"'
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Subtitled 'An Investigation of Missing Sound', poet Raymond Antrobus's first work of non-fiction prose, about deafness and creativity, signals its originality with an absence. It would be a cliché to pay homage to Beethoven as the Great Deaf Genius, and it is a stereotype Antrobus wisely forgoes; not just in that it makes Beethoven's specific form of hearing loss (noticeable reduction in his late twenties, complete deafness by 45) a metonym for all deafness, but it makes the Tortured Maestro the icon for all artists. Antrobus is markedly different: vulnerable, patiently understanding, curiously seeking out other elective ancestors. Raymond Antrobus | Suki Dhanda The book is really about 'betweenness'. Antrobus had a white English mother and a black Jamaican father, and his early life is one of being variously categorised. He experiences the kind of racism you might expect, but is also vilified as a 'white devil' by his father. In terms of hearing, coping strategies can be mistaken as not being 'truly' deaf. Even within D/deaf communities there are gradations: he is not, for example fluent in American Sign Language. He writes eloquently about 'internal deaf dilemma', using the image of a broken shop sign that (now) read 'THE I NG OF FALAFEL', finding the aporia as a metaphor that 'externalised the language of that internal space'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Antrobus writes movingly of a feeling of betrayal on coming across the poem 'Deaf School' by Ted Hughes, and his own erasure as reclamation of it in his own collection 'The Perseverance'. Likewise, he provides a good introduction to David Wright and his ambiguities, especially how even parental voices become 'projections of habit and memory'. But Antrobus find himself in the problematic position of both acknowledging and chafing against the perpetual 'deaf' adjective (in the way black and woman and gay are deployed almost as qualifiers: never just 'poet'.) As a reader I both respect the decision and wish he had written more about the specific aesthetic decisions and solutions. The idea of signing a poet as a form of parallel choreography to the uttered, or the phonic effects of mishearing, mumbling and whispering are fascinating. In addition to the poets, Antrobus has small sections on the deaf painter Seymour Redmond and the singer Johnnie Ray (intriguing about the 'performative' nature of deafness, and Ray's strange 'outsider' whiteness), as well as personal memoir. The path to poetry owed as much to Busta Rhymes as William Wordsworth, seeking the answer to a question posed by a therapist (not a speech therapist): 'Have you found a new language for yourself?' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Antrobus poises himself with precision between his younger self who confides 'being deaf doesn't suit me' to the mature adult wrestling with the privative 'hearing loss' versus 'deaf gain'. One mild regret: given the musical background, I wonder what on earth he makes of Morrissey and the infamous hearing aid as victim chic? The Quiet Ear, by Raymond Antrobus, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £16.99. Raymond Antrobus is appearing at the Edinburgh International Book Festival on 24 August
Daily Mirror
8 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Corrie's Todd Grimshaw trapped in dark spiral as horrifying Theo twist revealed
Exclusive: Coronation Street actor Gareth Pierce, who plays Todd Grimshaw, is stepping into one of his darkest storylines so far, and his family can hardly bear to watch Instead of lapping up his latest dramatic storyline, Corrie actor Gareth Pierce says his family can hardly bear to watch it. Likewise, fans who originally championed the romance between his character, Todd Grimshaw and hunky scaffolder Theo Silverton, have warned him to steer clear of his new love. Tortured Theo (James Cartwright), left his wife and kids after falling for undertaker Todd, having suppressed his homosexuality since undergoing conversion therapy at the hands of Noah Hedley (Richard Winsor), a church clerk, who is now dating his ex. And in a shocking twist, viewers will see Theo becoming increasingly abusive towards Todd - isolating him from his family and friends, before turning to violence. Gareth, who has played Todd for five years, tells the Mirror: "My wife and daughter dip into Coronation Street occasionally and they're hugely supportive, but this story will be a very uncomfortable watch for any family member of mine. "Even my parents may find moments that they don't really enjoy watching. Todd is in danger. Theo's behaviour is becoming increasingly controlling, and there's a moment coming up where it becomes physically abusive for the first time. There's a line that has definitely been crossed; it will be hard to watch.' The relationship will turn violent next month, after Theo makes Todd promise not to speak to vicar Billy Mayhew - his ex-boyfriend-turned close friend - anymore. When Theo returns home one evening to find the place empty, he is furious to discover that Todd is in the pub with Billy, and so downs a bottle of brandy before violently confronting the undertaker on his return. Revealing the reaction of Corrie fans, Gareth says: 'When I'm out doing my shopping, people come up and say, 'That Theo's no good, you want to get out!' I'll reply,' You might be right, we'll have to see, but I do as I'm told, I'm not the writer!'' Gareth, 44, was born in Pwllheli, north Wales, where he lived until he was nine. 'My dad was in the military, so we moved around quite a lot as a family after that – not just in the UK, but also in Europe. I speak fluent Welsh and English, and my French, German and Italian are pretty good too,' he says. A bit of a class joker, he says this encouraged his teachers to put him on stage when he was 11. 'I really lived for making my mates laugh,' he recalls. 'It occurred to the school to stick me on stage. Once I had this outlet for that side of my personality, I calmed down.' At 16, he was accepted into the National Youth Theatre in London, before studying at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. His first TV role was in 2002 in the BBC Wales series First Degree. He was also in the S4C series Caerdydd for four years, saying: 'I started out playing a lot of geeks, but I then played a soldier coming back from Iraq in the feature film Cymru Fach, which was the first more hard-edged character. I was able to root that quite a lot in my childhood, growing up in a military family. On the back of that, I was in a series called Y Pris, playing a sociopathic skinhead – he was horrible.' In turn, he says this landed him a year-long role as Lenny Mac, an abusive drug dealer and jailbird in Stella, which had an all-star cast led by Ruth Jones. He also enjoyed theatre work, including a stint at London's Globe Theatre and in 2020 joined the cast of Radio 4's The Archers as Gavin, the son of Philip Moss. Later that year, he joined Corrie, playing Todd, replacing Bruno Langley, who had left the show. 'I knew there were going to be plenty of eyes on the re-cast and whether it was going to work or not,' Gareth acknowledges. 'But I saw it as a great opportunity to play a character who was established and complex and had these rich shared histories with other characters. 'I watched the previous actor's depiction, so I could zone in on some of his key traits, but then it became about building my own performance and focusing on things that came more naturally to me as a performer, rather than trying to match the previous depiction.' And Todd's character has come full circle, starting as a sneaky schemer and now revealing his vulnerable side after meeting Theo. Gareth warns that the couple's relationship will become increasingly abusive over the coming weeks and months, revealing: 'It's emotional control and body image. Theo has already tried to get Todd on a fitness kick, and he starts to make the odd comment about Todd's body. Theo is fighting on a few fronts to chip away at Todd's self-esteem. 'Further down the road, there's financial control. It's very frustrating for the audience. They just want to shout, 'run!' I think that's quite close to real life. We can be objective about other people's relationships sooner than we can be about our own. 'So, the audience is a little further ahead than Todd in recognising what's going on. The audience is also party to a couple of occasional sadistic glances from Theo that Todd doesn't see.' James Cartwright and Gareth - who were both in The Archers - have found the storyline intense at times. 'Between scenes we get a cuppa together and have a good laugh,' Gareth says. 'You need that when the story is quite dark. James is a genuinely lovely guy in real life, so it can't be easy playing such a sadistic character.' In real life, Gareth loves keeping fit and unwinds from work with endurance sports, including cycling, swimming, hiking, trail running and triathlons. 'I'll always try to put that into my day if I can,' he says. 'I try to organise at least one charity event a year. This year, I've done a Cardiff to Tenby 100-mile bike ride to raise money for Noah's Ark Children's Hospital in Cardiff. I also partner with Age UK, and two years ago, I did the SAS Fan Dance, which is based on part of the SAS selection course.' Gareth is also a talented singer and musician. He's been in several bands over the years, including the indie group Hafaliadau = Equations, which released a Welsh-speaking album in 2008. Also the drummer in two heavy metal bands – Survivalists and Brandyman - he says: 'We had quite a cult following. I had a Freddie Mercury moustache and wore sleeveless tops. 'I've always been into heavy metal, punk and hardcore, and I worked for Rock Sound magazine for quite a few years. I miss it; I'm planning to get an electronic drum kit soon.' Eagle-eyed Corrie fans noticed in a recent episode two tattoos on Todd's calves, which he had done during his heavy metal days. 'There was always a part of me that wanted tattoos, but another part of me thought they weren't great for an actor, because they can get you typecast,' he says. 'I waited until eight years ago and decided to get them on my legs, so they're not always visible. There are a few different bits, but primarily there's a stag with a rising sun and an owl with a moon. They do have some significance, but I also just like that neo-traditional style. 'We've always shot around them on screen. Then, more recently, we decided that there was no real reason that Todd couldn't have explored some tattoo culture off-screen during his London years!'
