Terence Blacker

Terence Blacker

The writer and broadcaster Terence Blacker contributes a twice-weekly column on a wide range of social, cultural and environmental issues. He is the author of four novels, of prize-winning fiction for children, and has written a highly praised biography of the brilliant reprobate Willie Donaldson.

Terence Blacker: Don't try to be funny with me

There is, I am almost sure, a funny world out there. Prince Charles, Ann "Dancing Queen" Widdecombe, Katie Price, Huw Edwards, Wayne Rooney's vice-girls, the Speaker of the House of Commons: no one could seriously deny that the raw material for a great carnival of comedy is to be found every day in our public life. Yet increasingly we seem to live in post-humorous society in which nothing is funny, particularly if it is meant to be funny. Those who argue that, in a brutal world spiralling ever downwards to perdition, jokes are inappropriate seem to be winning the battle.

Recently by Terence Blacker

Terence Blacker: Me-time won't save you now

Tuesday, 5 October 2010

We live in an age which is so self-absorbed as to make previous generations look virtuous

Terence Blacker: How to be the perfect gentleman

Friday, 1 October 2010

These are confusing times for the English gentleman. Everything in his background has told him that manners are what help define him, but in this sharp-elbowed, aggressively egalitarian world, he has discovered that old-fashioned niceness is no longer quite enough.

Terence Blacker: Must love be all around?

Tuesday, 28 September 2010

When Al and Tipper Gore snogged on a public platform, divorce lawyers started licking their lips.

Terence Blacker: Stephen Fry and the art of inauthenticity

Saturday, 25 September 2010

Clearly, the creation of a public version of the self is more than mere marketing; it is a method of survival

Terence Blacker: The danger in attacking Mr Brock

Tuesday, 21 September 2010

The government will quickly find itself in deep difficulty with a sentimental, animal-loving electorate

Country singer Joe MacDonald knew the value of swearing. His songs depended on them

Terence Blacker: Standing up for bad language

Friday, 17 September 2010

The much-loved author Alexander McCall Smith is concerned about moral pollution. He believes that swearing blights society, representing "casual aggression" and, under certain circumstances, "a form of sexual intrusion".

Terence Blacker: Spare a thought for Rooney

Tuesday, 14 September 2010

Infidelity is almost always about something more than mere randiness, especially when the offender is famous

Terence Blacker: The quiet dignity of Mr Franzen

Friday, 10 September 2010

The famous novelist is making his promotional video. Shortly, his face will be on the front of Time magazine, his book praised to the heavens and at No 1 in the American bestseller list. "This might be a good place to register my profound discomfort at having to make a video like this," he says, looking indeed profoundly discomfited. The internet is fine for commerce, but "to me, the point of a novel is to take you to a still place".

Terence Blacker: Is this really a journey to fulfilment?

Tuesday, 7 September 2010

Gilbert has not only found wisdom but has made millions in the process

More time spent in the countryside may go some way to improving children's attitude towards the environment, food and wildlife

Terence Blacker: Hague has merely prolonged the agony

Friday, 3 September 2010

It has taken a non-scandal to reveal the extent to which gossip and cruelty now influence our politics. Normally when a story breaks about the private life of a politician – Prescott and the secretary, Oaten and the rent-boy, Laws and the tenant – there is a spasm of public excitement, followed by some sort of resolution.

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Columnist Comments

mary_ann_sieghart

Mary Ann Sieghart: The perils of giving in to pester power

If you reward those who shout loudest, the cacophony will become unbearable

yasmin_alibhai_brown

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown: Party conferences same as usual

But I love attending for the intelligent discussions at small, intense events

philip_hensher

Philip Hensher: Human rights, in the Chinese sense

It was an undeniably bad week for the Chinese government.

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