Reading for pleasure when there's not much pleasure to be had

Cricket has a reputation for fostering fine writing, yet most followers of the game probably don't know (or care) about the leading players' reading tastes (or whether they read at all). It therefore comes as a surprise to read on Cricinfo that the troubled England team has set up, apparently at the instigation of Andrew (Freddie) Flintoff, a book club:

"They bring their own books in to discuss and exchange them with the others. Fred has just given me a new book to read," said a team spokesman, "he felt it would be a good idea to help the guys talk and think about things not associated with cricket."

Speaking of good writing, David Fine, the poet of the Ashes, is negotiating with a publisher about producing book of his poems.

[Also posted at Casting a short shadow]

Requiem for Duff Batting and other poems

I recommend David Fine's latest pieces, which he wrote soon after last Tuesday.

Here's an extract from "The English Disease":

Like syphilitic medieval kings, England
suddenly went mad. No apparent cause,
no seeming attempt to stem noble pause
in bedlam's frenzy to lose without stand.
Fumbling wickets tumbled from their own hand,
Misery's drubbing unconceived before
they gouged their own wounds to bone...

The poem elaborates upon the comment made by Greg Baum in the SMH and Age:

Like medieval royals with syphilis, they went suddenly mad. England lost its last nine wickets for 60, the same England that made 6-551 declared in the first innings.

Poet in residence at cricket funded by Arts Council England

I've just come across The pen is edgier than the blade blog.


David Fine is an English poet who is travelling around Australia following the Tests and writing poetry and other observations about the Tests and his travels. He is funded, albeit on a modest scale (backpacker accommodation no corporate boxes), by the English Arts Council. Yes, Australian readers, you read that correctly: I could go on about why an Australian arts funding body hasn't done something similar, but I won't. Instead I'll just recommend that you read, and for future reference bookmark, the site.


He's just posted today's piece, which includes two poems, one of which celebrates Matthew Hoggard's achievement with the ball over the last three days. A brief sample (apologies if I've breached copyright):


You climb each hill, break its back before
it breaks yours, seven times
for one hundred and nine long runs, dogged
against these hounds you never let off the leash.


David also has another blog Blog Before Wicket.


His email address is david@fineandandy.co.uk.

I think of N&D as a modest blog but after reading David's work I understand how much I have to be modest about.