Pope Francis, the first Latin American Pope, the first Jesuit Pope, the first Francis as Pope, was an inspired choice this evening. At 76, he is unlikely to overstay his welcome. As someone who has devoted decades to working with the poorest people of Argentina, he brings a message of humility, charity, and kindness. He is, in person, mildly charismatic - gentle, intelligent, and capable. He has started well. For those against the 1.2 billion Catholics in the world, and its Church, however, even this miracle of sagacity - a choice made almost in heaven - is darkness in the light; some are already alluding to the Pope's past as linked to the Junta. This is very nasty unproven stuff, a real smear campaign, and misses the point - the Church's move into the 21st century has started today, on the 13th of March, 2013, only 13 years late. God bless Pope Francis.
THAT HANDSOME MAN A PERSONAL BRIEF REVIEW BY TODD SWIFT I could lie and claim Larkin, Yeats , or Dylan Thomas most excited me as a young poet, or even Pound or FT Prince - but the truth be told, it was Thom Gunn I first and most loved when I was young. Precisely, I fell in love with his first two collections, written under a formalist, Elizabethan ( Fulke Greville mainly), Yvor Winters triad of influences - uniquely fused with an interest in homerotica, pop culture ( Brando, Elvis , motorcycles). His best poem 'On The Move' is oddly presented here without the quote that began it usually - Man, you gotta go - which I loved. Gunn was - and remains - so thrilling, to me at least, because so odd. His elegance, poise, and intelligence is all about display, about surface - but the surface of a panther, who ripples with strength beneath the skin. With Gunn, you dressed to have sex. Or so I thought. Because I was queer (I maintain the right to lay claim to that
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