It's hardly surprising that a Tory priest, writing the the
Daily Telegraph would be critical of a poem written by a
lesbian in The Guardan, but Rev Dr Peter Mullen doesn't hold back
his disdain for the poet laureate's brilliant new work, describing
it as 'the literary equivalent of throwing a pot of paint in the
public's face'.
As if that isn't enough, he continues his 'review' refering to
the work as 'beyond excrescence.' Which is basically a posh way of
saying that he thinks it's shit.
The priest's response is particularly bad form considering his
principle beef with Duffy's work is that he reckons her grasp of
the English language is poor. Oh and tellingly, not one of the
poets he lists as 'worthy of being called a poet' is a woman.
I rather liked its bite, her honesty - celebrating the high
points of the Olympics and wondering whether the money spent will
be recouped and directed towards those who most need it.
In case you missed it, you can read it at
The Guardian website, where it appeared on Saturday.
What do you think of it?
