On Monday, July 1st, Tim Armstrong and Mark Ford discussed their books, ‘Haunted Hardy’ and ‘Woman Much Missed,’ and conversed about the life of Thomas Hardy. As someone only familiar with Hardy on a surface level, just dipping my toes into his poetry, this was a wonderful exposition that encouraged me to delve deeper.
Tim Armstrong’s book, ‘Haunted Hardy,’ as the title suggests, explores Hardy’s experiences with the supernatural. Ghosts, memory, and historicity are addressed, along with debates between theorists like Torok and Derrida. This duality of the supernatural and factual history is intriguing and definitely makes this a book to read this summer.
‘Woman Much Missed’ by Mark Ford studies the poetry Hardy wrote following the death of his wife in November 1912—over 150 poems in total. From their first meeting, to marriage, to disputes, to her death, this book encapsulates the relationship between Hardy and Emma. By using Hardy’s poetry to build this record, I believe this book will offer insight into the poet’s thoughts and feelings in a way never before accomplished.
Something particularly appealing about this event was that the writers did not dwell excessively on promoting their books. Instead, they exhibited their passion for Hardy by exploring the relationship between the poetry and the poet’s personal life. Specifically, Armstrong and Ford spoke about Hardy’s poetry concerning his wife, Emma. I found this to be an enlightening point of interest as I was previously unaware of the intense and tumultuous nature of their relationship, their divide in class, family feuds, and Emma’s ‘black books’ where she wrote about their difficulties. This was a shocking exposure of the poet. However, I was warmed when learning that although he only wrote one poem about his wife during her lifetime, her death inspired hundreds more; even weaving her ‘black books’ into his work. Certainly, their love is obvious through his writing—she became his muse in death.
I really enjoyed this experience because, despite learning a lot about Thomas Hardy, it did not feel like a boring school lecture. This felt like an intimate meeting of minds as we were all invited to discuss the poet we all love and pay special homage to one of his biggest inspirations: Emma.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Alice Drury is a recent ex-student of English Literature, Medieval History, and Classical Civilisations at Hereford Sixth Form College. Based in Ledbury, Alice has volunteered in the Poetry House and currently takes part in writing for her college newspaper. In her free time, she enjoys reading and comparing Ancient Greek theatre to modern plays, inspiring her to write her own performances.