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“Anthony Powell: An Omnivorous Curiosity”

Hitchens’ review of To Keep The Ball Rolling: The Memoirs of Anthony Powell. Sad to say that I had never heard of  “the pre-eminent novelist of English traits.” Hichens is enamored: “…the task for which I happily volunteer: recommending the reading of Anthony Powell. I say ‘happily’ because I have never induced anyone to try him and been subsequently cursed for my pains.” It seems that Powell (pronounced in the Welsh as rhyming with Noel) has a reputation or being wordy, obtuse and elitist (or at least snobbish) in his writings. Hitchens spends most of his essay trying to debunk this but his examples of Powell’s writing subvert his efforts.

New Learning: Powell chose the hymns for Orwell’s funeral, in 1950. Interesting as Powell was a staunch Tory and Orwell a well known socialist.

New word: esurient = archaic term for hungry or greed. Hitchens has a little section to make the point that Powell had “an almost affected pleasure in the antique or the nearly expired …why say ‘esurient’ when ‘hungry-looking’ would do, or ‘inspissated’ instead of ‘stifling’?”  Hitchens does the same throughout this piece…e.g. “osbsequy” to mean funeral rites. Is this supposed to make me want to read Powell?

          Picturre of Powell with a bust of Aristotle.


Of course, there is a society with a facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/Anthony.Powell.Society