Stephen Fry's comments on free verse, UK Observer Newspaper article link Options

[Guest_Toumai_*]

Well known writer, actor, media personality and intellectual Stephen Fry has a new book out about poety.

This link is to an article in the Observer Sunday newspaper last weekend where he says what he thinks about free verse.

WARNING: Mr Fry does not mince his words: some of his language is a little coarse (however, if a highly respectable and popular Sunday broadsheet can carry it nationally I assume MM can)

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/sto...1593317,00.html

I'd be very interested in hearing what everyone thinks of his comments.

My own first response is - if free verse is emotional self-gratification, then form is merely the intellectual counterpart of the same thing.

Growling  :dragon:

Fran

[Guest_Jox_*]

Hi Don, et al,

Stephen Fry is an interesting man. He's an Cambridge English graduate who chairs and appears on various radio and tv quiz programmes. He's both a "straight" actor (a strange term for someone of his sexual persuasion) and a comedy actor - and a comedian. He writes books and is very learned. He famously ran away from acting in a London stage play because of something like a breakdown - the precise facts never seemed to emerge but one felt very sorry for him - and for the rest of the cast and team. He writes books and loves cricket. (So can't be all bad). He appeared as Oscar Wilde in the "recent" film. (He may have directed it, too?).

I think his rant is just that, plus publicity-useful. He is a stickeler for good form and grammer so I'm not surprised he prefers form poetry but I am surprised at his apparently unintelligent outburst, given he is one of the most intelligent men in broadcasting I believe.

IMDB has an excellent potted biography of Fry Here

(Including his time doing bird).

Toodle Pip.