John Betjeman and Cornwall (eBook)

Philip Payton (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF

2015
278 Seiten
University of Exeter Press (Verlag)
978-0-85989-923-9 (ISBN)

Infos

Quintessentially English, Betjeman was an 'outsider' in England - and doubly so in Cornwall where he was a ‘foreigner’. And yet, as this book describes, Betjeman also strove to acquire a veneer of ‘Cornishness', cultivating an alternative Celtic identity, and finding inspiration in Cornwall's Anglo-Catholic tradition.

---

';I was one of the 8,000-strong ';Betjemaniacs' gathered at Carruan farm in Cornwall in August 2006 to celebrate the hundredth birthday of Sir John Betjeman, the late Poet Laureate. Situated high above Polzeath, with tremendous views out to the azure Atlantic and the great headland of Pentire, Carruan was, with its exhilarating sense of space, an inspirational choice for this great event. I stood in the pasty-queue with the Archbishop of Canterbury, watched the poetic performance of Bert Biscoe, and browsed among the bookstalls in the hope of finding second-hand copies of rare Betjeman books to add to my collection. Here was that Patrick Taylor-Martin volume that had eluded me for years, and Betjeman's Britain compiled by Candida Lycett Green, Betjeman's daughter together with more recent editions of old favourites.' Philip Payton, in the preface to John Betjeman and CornwallQuintessentially English, Betjeman was an 'outsider' in England - and doubly so in Cornwall where, as he was the first to admit, he was a ';foreigner'. And yet, as this book describes, Betjeman also strove to acquire a veneer of ';Cornishness', cultivating an alternative Celtic identity, and finding inspiration in Cornwall's Anglo-Catholic tradition.He was also active in Cornish affairs, insisting that Cornwall was not part of England, and championing Cornish environmental concerns that anticipated today's focus on sustainability.The new research in this book includes a wealth of previously ignored source material, forming a lively new account of Betjeman's life and work and his defining relationship with Cornwall. This book is likely to be controversial and to provoke debate.

Autor

lt;p>

Philip Payton is Professor of Cornish & Australian Studies in the University of Exeter and Director of the Institute of Cornish Studies at the University’s Cornwall campus.

Inhalt

List of Illustrations


Preface


Preamble: 'The Sky Widens to a Sense of Cornwall'


1.  'That Bold Coast-line Where he was Not Born': John Betjeman as 'foreigner'


2.  'Into Betjemanland': Imagining North Cornwall


3.  'The Oldest Part of Cornwall': Hawker, Baring-Gould and 'Betjeman Country'


4.  'Caverns of Light revealed the Holy Grail': Betjeman and The Secret Glory


5.  'A Longing for Ireland': Sean O'Betjeman and the 'Anglo-Celtic Muse'


6.  'I'm Free! I'm Free!': Cornwall as Liberation


7.  'Jan Trebetjeman, The Cornish Clot': John Betjeman Goes Native


Epilogue: 'When People talk to me about "The British"...I Give Up'


Notes


Further Reading


Index

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 2.3.2015
• Verlagsort: Exeter
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Biografien / Erfahrungsberichte
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• Themenwelt: Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► Neuzeit (bis 1918)
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Anglistik / Amerikanistik
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Literaturwissenschaft
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie ► Spezielle Soziologien
• Schlagworte: 20th century • Biography • British history • controversial • Cornish identity • Cornishness • Cornish studies • Cornwall • Cornwall as artisitc colony • Ecological Sustainability • inspiring landscape • John Betjeman • Literary Studies • Poet Laureate • Poetry and pasties
• ISBN-10: 0-85989-923-3 / 0859899233
• ISBN-13: 978-0-85989-923-9 / 9780859899239