Those born with wealth, position and talent often attract great sympathy when afflicted with misfortune, as though a natural order has been broken.

The American poet Robert Lowell had all of the above advantages and his fair share of misfortune, due to a life history of mental illness.

Therefore it was both informative and moving to hear the former Arts Minister Lord Gowrie discuss and defend an old friend, someone who also happened to be a great poet.

At a glance, Lowell can seem a disturbing study and by Lord Gowrie's own account, we are talking about a poet who "did good frenzy" and who was sometimes a vocal admirer of Hitler.

The audience in the Burgage Hall heard that, while Lowell often wrote best in depression, each new success made his emotions a pressure cooker.

Gowrie was Lowell's teaching assistant at Harvard and is such an erudite, gentle, intelligent man, the fact he was Lowell's friend supports his defence that the poet was often sweet, funny and "funky" company.

The poetry also supports a positive view, because it is often compassionate, from the spiritual yearnings of "The Quaker Graveyard in Nantucket" through to the groundbreaking confessional verse of Life Studies.

Gary Bills-Geddes