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Following an introduction from the Master, Professor Brown shared his seemingly boundless knowledge and passion with a captivated audience.
MacNeice, who was born in Belfast on the 12th of September 1907, was severely influenced by his strict Protestant upbringing and the death of his mother. Even though MacNeice’s poetry is consequentially characterised by a pervading sense of dislocation, Professor Brown’s investigation of poems such as Snow and Sunlight on the Garden also uncovered a sensual poet infatuated by romance.
The talk demonstrated how MacNeice’s poems can work on so many levels, both structurally - with a skilful use of internal rhymes and rhythms – and metaphysically.
Professor Brown described MacNeice as being “one of those writers or poets that last in your life” and so the lecture was perforated by enthralling readings of some of his favourite works, including Charon, Autobiography and London Rain.
Following the lecture, some fortunate members of the Literary Society enjoyed dinner with the Professor, and were entertained by his humour and remarkable stories.
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