Category Archives: Poetry

New Year’s Death

Posted on January 1, 2017 by Peter Kruschwitz

For at least thirty-nine people their desire to celebrate the new year ended fatally last night in Istanbul when a hitherto unidentified perpetrator marched into a nightclub and gunned down his victims. Another 69 or so have been injured. In … Continue reading →

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An innocent lamb used facts as a weapon against post-truth politics. You won’t believe what happened next…

Posted on December 14, 2016 by Peter Kruschwitz

In my previous post, I explored the dynamics and rhetoric behind what has been called ‘post-truth politics’. The concept still is very much on my mind. On the one hand, I am not deluded enough to believe that concepts such … Continue reading →

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Winter is coming

Posted on December 2, 2016 by Peter Kruschwitz

In his poem De Bello Gothico (‘On the Gothic War’), the late antique poet Claudian describes the Roman general Stilicho‘s movements in wintery Germany (Claudian, De Bello Gothico 350–386; transl. from here): Near to the Hercynian forest the uplands of … Continue reading →

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No safe (and therefore a special) place

Posted on November 20, 2016 by Peter Kruschwitz

American Vice-President-Elect Mike Pence went to the theatre to enjoy a performance of ‘Hamilton’, when this happened: President-Elect Donald Trump apparently was not particularly happy with this and felt compelled to put his own trademark (a.k.a. low-fact, boastful) spin on … Continue reading →

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False Etymologies

Posted on November 10, 2016 by Peter Kruschwitz

With a little (and really only just a little) too much time on my hands, I recently thought: why not enter terms that are on my mind a lot as search strings into the Packhum Latin database and see what … Continue reading →

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Lesser Known Ballads (and Other Art Work) of Reading Gaol

Posted on November 6, 2016 by Peter Kruschwitz

Built in 1844, HM Prison Reading (also known as Reading Gaol and famous through Oscar Wilde‘s poem The Ballad of Reading Gaol) was decommissioned in 2013. Since September 2016 the prison has opened its doors to the public for the … Continue reading →

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Control, Fear, and Rage: Ovid on Linguistic Isolation

Posted on June 29, 2016 by Peter Kruschwitz

I moved from Germany to Britain in September 2005. I have made this island my home – I work here, I live here, I have my friends here. I don’t put my beach towel over chairs in the library, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 28 Comments

Sex, Gender Roles, and Hatred

Posted on June 8, 2016 by Peter Kruschwitz

In 1908, Edith Morley was appointed Professor of English Language at University College Reading – the institution that eventually became the University of Reading. Professor Morley’s autobiographical sketch, ‘Looking Before and After’ was recently published as ‘Before and After: Reminiscences … Continue reading →

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Of Arms … Errr: Biscuits I Sing!

Posted on May 20, 2016 by Peter Kruschwitz

Regular readers of my blog will know of my interest in the local history of Berkshire’s county town of Reading. I could not have been more thrilled, therefore, when I went through my University’s archive catalogue and found a record … Continue reading →

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Beware the Ides of March

Posted on March 15, 2016 by Peter Kruschwitz

Helvius Cinna, now virtually unknown to the wider public, once was one of Rome’s finest, most talented, highly acclaimed poets – a proponent of the progressive artistic movement of the neoterics. Catullus, his (nowadays) rather more famous contemporary and fellow … Continue reading →

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