24 NOVEMBER 1984, Page 23

Explaining all

Sir: I enjoyed P.J. Kavanagh's report on the Cheltenham Festival of Literature (Postscript, 10 November), but I wouldn't ay that lengthy explanations of poems, as indulged in by Craig Raine, are particular- ly unusual. All of the poets I saw in the recent Channel 4 series of readings made detailed decipherment of their work before reading. Indeed, Tony Harrison's back- ground notes to 'A Kumquat for John Keats' were so comprehensive I felt the subsequent reading of the poem hardly necessary. Katie Mallett 15b Meynell Avenue, Canvey Island, Essex