Author Archive: Peter Jakobsen
Divina Commedia
See for yourself, or read the Book (painting by Domenico di Michelino, 1465)
(by Dante Alighieri 1/6/1265 – 14/9/1321) (completed 1320)
[Note: extracts are from, and reference is to, the John Ciardi translation]
The greatest epic poem of all time (and we can say this with confidence, despite the dodgy standard of TVC’s latin).
It has a brilliantly (classically) simple structure – Recounting, in terza rima, how Dante spends the 1300 Easter vacation on a salvational tour of the worlds of our minds (and souls), guided through Hell and Purgatory by his poetic mentor, Virgil and accompanied by his poster-girl, Beatrice, in Paradise. There they meet Dante’s fiamma benedetta a flame of heavenly wisdom, S. Thomas Aquinas. S. Thomas was a formidable thinker but no great writer. Dante, taking hold of the 13th C theologian, supplied the art. “it is the flame, eternally elated, of Siger, who along the Street of Straws syllogized truths for which he would be hated.” (Pa. X) But he did something more: he created a new universe. And it was a universe that left Aquinas and Augustine, the best of the ancient Christians, pounding in the wake of something strange and monolithically modern. As Harold Bloom said with his usual wisdom in The Western Canon, “The Comedy…destroys the distinction between sacred and secular writing.”
Continue Reading →Iron Man
Arthur Wellesley and Waterloo (18 June, 1815) Of the 1st Duke of Wellington (1/5/1769 – 14/9/1852), Philip Guedulla asked “How many English streets, squares, monuments, and licensed premises bear the name of Wellington?” TVC would extend this fame phenomenon to the whole Commonwealth: its once favourite pub in Melbourne was the D of W on Flinders Street, the oldest mainland tavern in Australia, now renovated beyond memory. He was born in the same year as Napoleon, and after a stint at Eton, entered the lists of war and politics. He saw action in the Netherlands, India and in the Peninsular…
Continue Reading →Aboriginal Art
(by Howard Morphy) A sumptuous, encyclopaedic and expert review of indigenous visual art from ancient to modern times, from representative to decorative to spiritual to political, covering all mediums; yet another beautiful Phaidon addition to the good art libraries. Published in 1998, it could do with a new edition (to cover ‘newbies’ such as the contentious Sally Gabori, 1924-12/2/2015).
Continue Reading →Duel
Goliath & David: Peterbilt 281 tanker vs Valiant Plymouth
(Dir. Steven Spielberg) (1971) TVC’s all-time favourite trucking movie. Even with the padding of additional scenes to lengthen the story for theatrical release after its debut on U.S. television, it is still a masterwork of ruthless economy in its staging, editing and plot. Dennis Weaver is the perfect Mr. Average who plays a little chicken with a foul, evil-looking old rig, and gets a hell of a lot more than he bargained for. Everything hangs together – everything is plausible – the tension is built up seamlessly and then, “there you are: right back in the jungle again.” Spielberg is…
Continue Reading →Hampton Court
A pile costing many coins and heads...
(TVC’s visit: 2 June 2013) Finding ourselves at a motel near Heathrow with a few hours to kill before take-off, we thought, ‘why not have a look at Hampton Court?’ So we sensibly took a shuttle to terminal 4 of the airport to look for the tube. This chewed up about half an hour with nil result. Then we meandered to Henry VIII’s place on 3 buses, wondering at the complexities of our little visit and the varied responses of the bus drivers, their advice ranging from cheery and correct, to non-committal, to the outright hostile. Got there in the…
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