Is Oxford voting for a celebrity or a poet?

16 May 2009

Literature and scandal have often gone together, writes Olivia Cole. But the withdrawal of Derek Walcott from the race to become professor of poetry reflected misplaced priorities

People who wouldn’t dream of having anything so trashy as Grazia on the coffee table, who claim not to be the slightest bit interested in the state of Brad and Angelina’s marriage, are often gripped by the seamy, rowdy lives of our poets and writers. They’re a source of glamour and gossip for more high-minded readers. Little wonder then that the gay and confessional poet Carol Ann Duffy said that she thought ‘long and hard’ about stepping on to this crowded stage of literary Brangelinas. Little wonder also that in a deeply shaming incident for Oxford University, the Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott, 79, this week withdrew from the elections to become its Professor of Poetry, which take place on Saturday, after being the victim of what he termed ‘a low and degrading attempt at character assassination’.

The nomination of Walcott — who in his native St Lucia is so adored that there’s even a square was named after him — was the idea of his friend, Professor Hermione Lee, who labelled him the ‘Professor of cool’. The campaign began with jovial assertions of ‘yes we can’. Walcott is known to be a favourite poet of Obama and would have been the first black poet to hold the Oxonian role. His rival, Ruth Padel, whose election is now almost certainly assured (unless Saturday’s voting is postponed in the wake of the scandal), would be the first woman.

Padel swiftly won the support of Melvyn Bragg and Boris Johnson, as well as legions of scientists keen to promote the connection between science and poetry. (Her book Darwin: A Life of Poems is an impressive biography in poems of her great-great-grandfather.) Walcott, however, beyond being ‘cool’, is a towering figure in post-colonial literature and was the star name who most excited the English faculty.

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anna

May 15th, 2009 8:41pm Report this comment

Surely the sticking point is not, did he or did he not make advances to a student, but, did he, as alleged, reduce her marks for rejecting these advances.

The first accusation is about lack of taste, the second about academic integrity and abuse of power.

I hope it is untrue.

Fergus Pickering

May 18th, 2009 7:35am Report this comment

Right. I wantto talk about poetry. Ruth Padel is a trendy establishment poetaster who has never written a memorable line. Can't we find someone better than that? Of course we can but we haven't.

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