Enemy Music

On Sundays, Browser readers receive a special edition with puzzles, poems, books, charts, music and more – here's a little taste of this week's edition.

Poem Of The Week

The Book Of My Enemy Has Been Remaindered
Clive James | Collected Verse 1958-2003

The book of my enemy has been remaindered
And I am pleased.
In vast quantities it has been remaindered
Like a van-load of counterfeit that has been seized
And sits in piles in a police warehouse,
My enemy's much-prized effort sits in piles
In the kind of bookshop where remaindering occurs.
Great, square stacks of rejected books and, between them, aisles
One passes down reflecting on life's vanities,
Pausing to remember all those thoughtful reviews
Lavished to no avail upon one's enemy's book —
For behold, here is that book
Among these ranks and banks of duds,
These ponderous and seemingly irreducible cairns
Of complete stiffs.

continue reading at CliveJames.com

Book Of The Week

Every Good Boy Does Fine: A Love Story In Music Lessons
Jeremy Denk | Random House | 2022

Recommended by Caroline Crampton In The Guardian
"One of the most refreshing things about Denk’s memoir is his relaxed approach to the music itself. There is no unnecessary complexity or pretension. He doesn’t shy away from using musical terminology, but deploys little hand-drawn diagrams and extracts from scores to make it absolutely clear what he is describing. The result is a light, informative tone that will be readable for both diehard classical music fans and complete newcomers alike. It’s a rare feat"

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