Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Poetry on a Wednesday -- Or, Another reason to love G.K. Chesterton

A discussion list I'm on has been reading Georgette Heyer's mysteries, most recently The Unfinished Clue. Much as I like many of her other books, I'll admit that I'm not a great fan of her detective stories, and find this one particularly weak. I have a theory that Heyer despised many of her contemporaries, because so many of her books portraying them are heavily populated with unlikable characters.

One of the characters in The Unfinished Clue quotes lines from a poem by Frances Darwin Cornford, which led one of the list members to provide a link to this site:
http://tinyurl.com/crp5fg

I'm so glad I followed it, for the sake of the amusement to be found in G.K. Chesterton's response to the poem.

I'll add that while I laughed, Cornford was far from unread in her day, and should be remembered for other poems -- "All Souls' Night," for example, which appears in the Wikipedia article about her.

6 comments:

Irene said...

I'm glad I decided to come here today of all days. As you said, I particularly enjoyed the response.

I have been reading your books since I found Goodnight Irene in my local library. The title caught my eye for reasons that will be obvious.

I find it amusing that we have both written short stories titled, "Lost and Found." I'm sure that many more people have read yours than ever even heard of mine.

I am currently reading The Messenger and enjoying it enough to sneak a couple of pages now and then at work. The only thing wrong with it is that I don't want to put it down. -- Thanks!

Irene Smith

Jan Burke said...

Hi Irene! Thanks for these kind words. I'm so glad you're enjoying The Messenger!!

Jan

Anonymous said...

Dear Ms. Burke,
I have been a fan of yours for years and am excited about reading your newest book. It took me slightly by surprise, though, to hear that it wasn't an Irene Kelly novel. Are you planning any more for the series? Also, I have to admit that I have a huge crush on Frank Harriman even though he's like 20 years my senior and wondered if there are any plans for a more Frank centered novel like Flight and Hocus? I look forward to reading more books from you. Keep up the good work!
-Mary-Megan

Jan Burke said...

Dear Mary-Megan,

Thanks for your kind comments!

I am working on a new Irene Kelly book, so the series hasn't ended.

I'm always happy to hear that a reader has a crush on Frank. I've had emails from readers saying they want to date him if Irene ever gets tired of him, and while I don't think that's likely, I understand the sentiment. I'd love to write another book from his point of view.

I have a feeling you'll enjoy meeting Tyler in The Messenger -- let me know.

Yours,
Jan

Mary-Megan said...

I finished reading The Messenger and enjoyed your take on immortality. There are so many books coming out exploring that and vampires but I really enjoyed your interpretation on it. I especially like how Tyler did good in the world with his position, bringing comfort to so many people. I heard you mention a possible sequel and I look forward to reading another book with these characters. I really liked Tyler, although I pictured him looking older than you said, but that's probably because he's physically so old. Either way, he was an enjoyable character, although not as delectable as Frank who I think will always hold my heart :-) On that note, do you have any idea when your next Irene Kelly book will be coming out? I can't wait to see something new on the bookshelves from you :-)
~Mary-Megan

Jan Burke said...

Hi Mary-Megan!

What a kind note -- thank you!

I'm so happy to hear that you liked The Messenger! Please tell your friends about it.

As for the next Irene book, it will be published in 2010. I don't have an exact date for it yet. I'll post here when I know more.