Robert Dover poetry | Care workers | Unusual baby names | The Mirror and the Light
Why do journalists always describe archives and their contents as “dusty” (Hidden Robert Dover poem uncovered in 17th century plea roll, 13 April)? The whole point of a properly run archive is to create storage conditions that eradicate dust and other corrupting elements in the interests of long-term preservation.
Clyde Jeavons
Former curator, National Film Archive, British Film Institute
• There is much to admire in the ingenuity of Euan Roger’s interpretation of the newly found Robert Dover poem. But there is no need to wrest Dover’s “Apelles” into “apples” or “as pelles” (Latin for animal skins). Dover is referring to the Greek artist Apelles, a byword for the highest skill in painting.
Prof Derek Attridge
York
