monday 15th june 2015
spark volume 71, Issue 3
NEWS
LIFESTYLE
SELF-EMPLOYMENT?
FESTIVALS THIS SUMMER
Research reveals that 57% of students plan to become selfemployed after graduation
Experience Reading festival and be enticed into going this summer by Sarah Kechington
ENTERTAINMENT
SPORT
PRAISE FOR CAITLYN JENNER
45 YEARS OF RUBSA
Eleanor Alice Ring celebrates Caitlyn’s courage throughout her transition
See what Matthew Standage has to say about the milestone reaching club
Stephen Fry lectures on Oscar Wilde at Reading Town Hall HARRIET LYNDS News Editor
On Thursday 4th June, Reading was honoured with the presence of TV star, Stephen Fry, who delivered a stunning lecture on Oscar Wilde. Wilde was an Irish author, playwright and poet and the circumstances of his imprisonment and early death were considered to be controversial during his time. Fry discussed his ever changing status in the social sphere: “For many years Oscar’s name was poison, then people started to see him as a comedian. Now they realise he was a philosopher.” He also covered many other aspects of Wilde, from his best works to his tragic imprisonment, and he openly discussed how he felt personally connected to him: “I shared the nature that brought him such disgrace and that was a terrible blow to me.” Notably, Fry played the title role in the 1997 biopic about the poet and playwright. For me, seeing Fry’s passion for Wilde and his work was a great reminder of why I love English literature, particularly during the heavy exam period. He has a beautiful way with words and I felt extremely lucky to experience them first hand. Fry also commented on his discovery of the beautiful English language: “It never
Image Credit: University of Reading
occurred to me that language was an art - that language itself could dance in your head.” “The first time I heard this quote - Would you be in any way offended if I said that you seem to me to be in every way the visible personification of absolute perfection? - I was in utter, transcendent joy.” He also read passages from The Ballad of Reading Gaol which was inspired by Wilde’s
experiences in Reading Prison. He spent time before his lecture touring the old prison, and it was incredibly refreshing to hear about its history from a person as well-educated as Stephen Fry himself. University of Reading’s vice-chancellor Sir David Bell said: “The closure of Reading Prison in December 2013 was a reminder of its iconic role in the town’s history. Oscar Wilde and
his relationship with the prison therefore seemed a fitting topic to have as our inaugural Town Hall lecture.” Fry effectively brought his lecture to a close by comparing Wilde to the growing view of the Empire State Building when you are driving down 5th Avenue: “The best of his age and getting taller and taller with every decade which comes.” Fry said afterwards: “I had
a wonderful evening giving the University of Reading’s inaugural Town Hall Lecture about, amongst other things, my love of Oscar Wilde. I think it is safe to say that I had a much better time in Reading than he did, poor soul.” At once both informative and compassionate, lighthearted yet earnest, Stephen Fry’s lecture was a privilege to see.