I’ve been offered a place on the MA English Literature at Bangor and if I go ahead with it I intend to focus on medieval literature this time.
I’m currently reading The Book of Margery Kempe, the first English autobiography, dictated by a woman. It concerns religious experiences and the conflicts Margery had with people who believed she was inspired by the devil. It’s a repetitive work; Margery spends most of it sobbing in religious ecstacy.
I’ve also been reading Ian Mortimer’s The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England, an enthralling book that thrusts the reader into the smells, tastes, sounds and clothes of the period.
I recently enjoyed Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, which I’d always thought would be dull and pretentious as he’s a pas de hors-texte type, but it was great fun (Sherlock Holmes in a monastery with intellectual bits).
Partly due to my medieval obsession, I’m attempting to teach myself Latin with the Cambridge Latin Course and Latin Via Ovid, and am finding the language bizarrely addictive.
To return to the twenty-first century, I recently joined Bangor’s Cellar Writing Group. I found the group very friendly, welcoming and inspiring, and am already looking forward to next month’s meeting.
