Letters

28 February 2009

Spectator readers respond to recent articles

Nantucket Graveyard

Sir: It is strange that, in a whole page devoted to American poets (And another thing, 21 February), Paul Johnson makes no mention of America’s most important 20th-century poet, Robert Lowell. It is stranger still that when he discusses poems about graveyards, Mr Johnson ignores Lowell’s ‘The Quaker Graveyard at Nantucket’ — a far greater ‘masterpiece’ than the example cited by Longfellow.

Roger Billis
Plymouth, Devon

Spencer says

Sir: Following Dear Mary’s comments about Earl Spencer mispronouncing Althorp, I have a pretty clear recollection that, as part of his millennial celebrations, Earl Spencer formally announced the change of the pronunciation of his home’s name to reflect its spelling. If one assumes that he, as the current living occupier of the house, has the right to change the pronunciation of the name, then he is not ‘often heard to mispronounce’ it.

Peter Drummond
Bedham, West Sussex

Move goods, not people

Sir: Matthew Parris (Another voice, 14 February) claims that ‘if we say workers should not travel to “undercut” local labour markets, the corollary that cheaper goods should not travel to “undercut” locally produced goods cannot be far behind’. This is nonsense. Free trade has always meant trade in goods and services. It never meant unrestricted immigration, until the EEC brought that in to promote the integration of ‘Europe’, a political objective which has nothing to do with free trade.

John Stott
Devizes, Wiltshire

Lost in translation

Sir: I hope it is your editing rather than Martin Vander Weyer’s ‘Meribel franglais’ (Any other business, 21 February) which has changed Christophe’s surname from Gormier to Gournier.

Alasdair MacKenzie
Muscat, Oman