Olivia Cole

Is Oxford voting for a celebrity or a poet?

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

issue 16 May 2009

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.

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