Tuesday, August 23, 2005

In the Picture, But Standing, Not Seated

Here are a few snippets from a recent article on Maurice Baring by Ralph McInerny:
It is a name one encounters in reading about others ... always it seems a background figure, in the picture, but standing, not seated, famous by association rather than achievement.
...
He flourished in a time when the entertainment to be found in books occupied a far larger portion of people's lives than it does today. Would his essays now be wasted on the desert air of a televised talk show? Baring himself saw how "what is called Education" was depriving the world of readers.
...
From youth he was given to triolets and later composed telegrams of them... He also exchanged verse letters with his dear friend Belloc.
The full article can be accessed HERE (Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format).

"in the picture, but standing, not seated" refers to the painting by Sir James Gunn. It can be viewed HERE.

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