Book of a lifetime: Collected Poems 1937-1966 by Martin Bell
The only book Martin Bell published in his lifetime was his Collected Poems, a hardback between mustard-coloured paper covers with a wood engraving showing a contemplative puritan poet. There was nothing else until 10 years after his death when, in 1988, Bloodaxe published the Complete Poems, edited by Peter Porter.
It is unusual to publish nothing but your Collected Poems. Your productive life appears to be over the moment it begins: the rest is, by implication, a kind of coda. So it was in some ways, but not all. I met Bell in 1969, two years after his annus mirabilis, as a first-year art student at Leeds where he ran a weekly poetry group that I attended. He had been a Gregory Fellow at the university, awarded in 1967. He would have left London just as his book was appearing to vanish into his hated North.
'A shilling life will give you all the facts,' wrote WH Auden in his poem 'Who's Who'. Bell has never had a shilling life but the poems remain original and full of energy. Al Alvarez said he wrote 'a rather bitter, tensely colloquial verse based, it seems, on a radical dislike for both himself and pretty much everything else', but that does him no justice at all. The poems glitter with laughter and desire.
His 'Ode to Groucho' begins with an invocation whose first two lines are, 'Pindarick, a great gorblimey Ode/ Soaring on buzzard wings, ornate' and continues in the same high spirits, through 'a back-cloth rattled by oom-pah' into a celebration of the anarchic. There is, it is true, self-hatred and self-mockery but they are part of a comedy that comprises terrors left over from the war and mischief aimed at the controllers of life: headmasters, mayors, all the snobbishly high-minded.
Italian opera was his love. The great tragic aria combined with the buffoonery of below stairs was his natural métier. That strange unwritten shilling life should tell how he is represented in Philip Larkin's The Oxford Book of Twentieth Century English Verse by a single poem, a translation, the only translation in the book. It is 'Winter Coming On', subtitled 'A caricature from Laforgue'. It is a magnificent poem in which Bell turns Jules Laforgue into a heartbreakingly yearning opera buffa. Together with Larkin's own 'The Whitsun Weddings' it is one of the two great poems of post-war England, not written from Larkin's train but by a demob from the platform, the B&B and the park bench.
I always return to him. To him and Eliot. There hasn't been anyone like Bell since.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Premier League legend is 'latest star to join Strictly Come Dancing 2025'
Football fans could see a familiar face on the Strictly Come Dancing dancefloor this year - as former Leeds player Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has reportedly been signed to compete on the BBC show With the 2025 season of Strictly Come Dancing just weeks away from launching, more stars are being linked to the show - with a premiere league icon the latest to be tipped to star. Former Leeds United star Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is said to be swapping soccer for sequins as a contestant on the long-running BBC show. The 53-year-old Dutch sportsman stands to be the latest in a long line of football legends to take to the Strictly dancefloor. He would follow the likes of Robbie Savage, Alex Scott and Tony Adams to bid for Glitterball Trophy victory. The former striker was hired as a coach for the England national team in 2023, but stepped away from responsibilities in August last year following manager Gareth Southgate's exit last August. With time on his hands, it is suggested Jimmy could be among the celebrities taking part in Strictly this year. A source told The Sun: 'Jimmy has a huge fanbase from his years playing in the Premier League and is a very likeable character. Show producers are always keen to book a retired footballer as it gets footie fans tuning into the series and becoming unlikely fans of the show. "Jimmy has a competitive edge and is going to get his head in the game.' The Mirror has contacted representatives of Jimmy and the BBC for comment. Olympian Sir Mo Farah, Gladiators star Harry Aikines-Aryeetey - better known as Nitro - and former Big Brother contestant Yinrun Huang are among stars tipped to appear in the upcoming new season. Judges Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke are all set to return for the 2025 season - which will be the 23rd in the long history of the show. But after the past two years, bosses are said to be worried about fresh scandal hitting the show. Stirctly has been dragged into disrepute in recent years amid accusations that professional dancers have been physically abusive to their celebrity dance partners. While the celebs have also been accused of offensive behaviour. Earlier this year, it was reported BBC bosses are practically paralyzed by a "terrible, terrible fear" that more scandal will hit the show - and there have been attempts to clean up the image of the series - and this could also impact star signings. It has been suggested the BBC are taking steps to go risk free and leaving no stone unturned to make sure the line-up is as safe as possible for the 2025 season. Blue Peter presenters Joel Mawhinney and Shini Muthukrishnan are said to be under consideration - as is Tom Parker Bowles, the son of Queen Camilla. Georgia Toffolo - the I'm a Celebrity Jungle Queen - is reportedly being lined up, as is Girls Aloud singer Nicola Roberts. Newly married former Love Island star Dani Dyer is being considered, it has been reported, with former Coronation Street star Helen Flanagan another name high up on bosses' list. "There is a terrible, terrible fear among those high up that these awful things are going to keep happening and the show will be brought into disrepute again and again," one well-place BBC insider has told MailOnline. "With that in mind, they are taking no chances. "There will be stringent checks, and asking around, and digging into potential stars' backgrounds to make sure that they're not choosing anyone who might damage the show. For years, there was the whole Strictly 'curse' where the contestants and professionals kept having affairs. But that stopped. "Changes were made to the partnerships and it worked. There have been other issues in the past couple of years, though. What's been even more embarrassing for the BBC is that Wynne and Jamie have been from their own stable of stars. Going forward, those at the top want a wholesome image to shine through. No more scandal – just joy." The report came after 2024 contestant Jamie Borthwick, who is known for playing Jay Brown in the BBC soap EastEnders, was forced to issue a groveling apology after footage was reportedly uncovered showing him making derogatory comments about the people of Blackpool.
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Love him or not, Rishabh Pant is the most watchable cricketer on the planet, writes LAWRENCE BOOTH... after India star's electric performance at Headingley
Rishabh Pant brought up his century with a one-handed mow off Shoaib Bashir into the Western Terrace, and celebrated with a somersault. Somehow it felt like a normal few seconds in the life of the world's most watchable cricketer. There was more to come as India threatened mayhem on the second morning of the first Test. Two balls later, he deposited Bashir for a straight six. Not long after that, he slog-swept him for six more. Next ball, on 124, he charged at Bashir, and should have been stumped by Jamie Smith. It was like watching a highlights package, in real time. The only surprise came after a message arrived in the middle from India's 12th man. Pant went into his shell, and was finally leg-before to Josh Tongue for 134 playing a shot few knew existed in his repertoire: the shouldering of arms. Had he been advised to rein it in? If so, England were delighted. Still, a bright morning in Leeds had been further illuminated by Pant's brilliance, thrilling a capacity 18,000 crowd who were cheering mainly for England but couldn't help but be enchanted by India's wicketkeeper. And the tourists' subsequent collapse, with seven falling for 41, only reinforced the value of his knock. Pant arrived in England needing no introduction, his reputation as an innovator and an imp preceding him. And on the first evening here, when others might have defended in the day's last over against the second new ball, he danced at Chris Woakes and smeared him for six. It was the shot of a player at ease with himself — and with the potential consequences of his actions. This is a man who nearly died in a car crash two and a half years ago. What does cricket matter? The Indian debate around Pant can feel like a microcosm of the English debate around Bazball: when he comes off, he's loved; when he doesn't, he's loathed. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid,' roared Sunil Gavaskar after one harebrained dismissal in Australia over the winter. No one felt inclined to disagree. But you'd have to be especially po-faced not to enjoy Pant, who now has more Test hundreds — seven — than any other Indian wicketkeeper, including MS Dhoni. Throw in seven dismissals in the nineties, and there is a strong case for handing Pant the gloves in a World XI. Three of his hundreds have now come in England, two more than any other visiting wicketkeeper. His innings, meanwhile, contained six sixes, a record for any tourist in this country, gloves or not. Pant, still only 27, was made vice-captain for this trip, part of India's reset following the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, yet there was no expectation that the step up in office would be accompanied by greater responsibility. Whether falling over while sweeping Bashir over his shoulder, or advancing at the quicks as if they were medium-pacers, Pant does things his way. Cricket fans on both sides are in for quite a summer.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Bettys loaf cake, beer snakes and polite applause are the perfect antidote to football's tribal toxicity: OLIVER HOLT spends a day basking in the cricket at Headingley
Summer started on a heavy, hot day in Leeds on Friday. It started with the morning sun glinting off the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and cricket supporters striding happily along the towpath through its Victoriana, past Granary Wharf and Monk Bridge Viaduct, towards the cathedral of Headingley, on the hill. It started with a bacon and sausage butty from Ugly Mugs Cafe on St Michael's Lane, opposite the ground, already busy more than two hours before the first ball of this Test summer was bowled, the summer that is a prelude to an Ashes winter in Australia, the summer when Bazball is being told to grow up or go home. Ugly Mugs is David Lloyd's pre-match eatery of choice and there is an item called Rob Burrow's Number 7 on the menu, in honour of one of Leeds' favourite sons. It is a place to watch the cricket walk by. 'You just missed Harry Brook,' one of the customers said to no one in particular, as he peered over the mountain of his full English from one of the outside tables. Queues had already started to form outside the gates. Signs pointed us to summer, too. They pointed to familiar, comforting names such as the Kirkstall Lane End. Inside, the great expanse of the Western Terrace lay empty and expectant and daunting, ready for its bacchanal. The nets were up on the outfield and there was the smack of ball on bat, and the buzz of broadcasters doing pieces to camera. Ben Stokes was on the front cover of the programme, with his collar turned up, and on the desks in the press room there were pieces of loaf cake from Bettys in Harrogate that had been 'steeped' in Yorkshire Tea. And Bumble was here now and Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain, broadcasters who have done so much to illustrate their game with colour and life and beauty and complexity. On the field, Stokes won the toss and said, 'We'll have a bowl', and the hum grew a little louder. Some looked up at the sky and saw it was blue and wondered at the wisdom of the decision. Others pointed out that the previous six Tests on this ground had all been won by the team bowling first. Music from a DJ booth called Punjabi Roots drifted over the ground. Yashasvi Jaiswal pushed the first ball of the day from Chris Woakes judiciously away, left the next four and then guided the final delivery through gully to the third man boundary for four. It was the start of a day of elegance and admiration. Jaiswal was a joy to watch. He gave a first hint of what was to come with a sumptuous drive through mid-off from the penultimate ball of Woakes's second over. Soon after, he carved Brydon Carse like a dish fit for the gods, viciously through point to the boundary. Soon, it started to feel as if maybe India were not going to miss Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma quite as much as everyone had thought. Jaiswal and KL Rahul drove and cut with majesty. Stokes offered some resistance, as Stokes always does. England's captain is never less than a force of nature and he removed India's debutant, Sai Sudharsan, for a duck with the last ball before lunch. It was only a brief reprieve. By mid-afternoon, as India began to accelerate away from their hosts, Stokes's decision to put them in started to excite comparisons with Hussain's decision to bowl against Australia at the Gabba in 2002. That didn't end well. On the evidence of the first day, at least, neither will this. But this is only the opening skirmish. Just the first day of summer. England were strong favourites to win this series before the start, so this was just the start this five-Test challenge needed. The first signs are that it will be a battle royal. The crowd seemed to recognise that, too. When Jaiswal was finally dismissed for 101, clean bowled by Stokes, after tea, the crowd crammed on to the Western Terrace — even those involved in the patient building of a gargantuan beer snake — stood to applaud him as he headed back towards the pavilion. That kind of generosity is not uncommon in cricket but after another season of football's endless toxicity and relentless tribalism, it still felt like a cool breeze in the stifling heat of the afternoon. It was not England's day but it was impossible not to appreciate the feast India were serving up. Nor did they relent. Shubman Gill, who some had expected to wilt under the pressure of being the new India captain, ended the day unbeaten on 127. He brought up his century with a stunning cover drive off the bowling of Josh Tongue. It was a sobering day for England's bowlers. Their attack looked light and ineffectual. Maybe Jofra Archer will be back for the second Test at Edgbaston. England need him. Mark Wood is sorely missed, too. His return will take longer. There was no flurry of wickets before stumps. Rishabh Pant took his turn to cut loose. He clubbed his second ball of the day back over Stokes's head for four. Stokes grinned broadly. Game recognised game. In the final overs, Pant hoiked a six high over the midwicket boundary off the bowling of Woakes, as India raced towards 359 for three at the close.
