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I apologise, it was a bad error of judgment, says poet
Louise Jury, Chief Arts Correspondent26 May 2009
Ruth Padel today admitted her emails were a “bad error of judgment” and apologised to Derek Walcott.
She said she was “very silly” to highlight claims that Walcott had sexually harassed students. But she tried to shift some blame to the emails' recipients, neither of whom used the information. “I thought these journalists were writing about the election in a responsible and balanced way,” she said. “This act was naive and silly of me. I do not believe it was wrong but it was a bad error of judgment … I was trying in a misguided way to address students' concerns which I thought were genuine.”
At the Hay literary festival, where she was tonight due to speak about her poetry, she tried to disassociate herself from a wider smear campaign. She said she did not know whether that campaign, which apparently involved more than 100 people, was a vendetta against Walcott or aimed at undermining her. “I was horrified, it seemed to me an insane and malicious action,” she said. “From that point on, of course I was extremely troubled.”
She also apologised for the damage to Walcott. “I do want to apologise to him but I can't apologise for things I didn't do,” she said. “I apologise for anything I have done that can be misconstrued as being against him. He's my senior colleague. I revere his work. When I first heard he had pulled out, I felt completely scooped out inside. I don't want poets to be humiliated.”
Of her emails, she added: “I fully regret that they could be misconstrued as evidence that I had taken part in a widescale campaign. Nothing I did led to Walcott's withdrawing from the election. I wish he had not. I would have been happy to lose to him.”
She said she had been guided by the university which did not want her to withdraw but decided to step down when she realised the scandal had “deeply divided” those who cared about the post.
She said: “I care deeply about Oxford University. My life and my mind and my heart were formed there. I lived there for 15 years and taught there. I had acted throughout in complete good faith.”
She said she would not stand in any new election. “I don't think now I could have a clean beginning. People wouldn't believe in me … I don't think it would be helpful for me to stand. I hope the people who do stand are good.”
“I wish the next professor of poetry the very best and I hope she is a woman.”
Reader views (4)
An error of judgement? In a decent person the thought would never have entered their head to be judged! Oxford is well shot of her but what a pity so many feminists who have used exactly the same underhand means to get their positions are still in place at Oxford. Has the tide begun to turn on the liars at last? We shall see soon enough hopefully. Oxford should, at once, start a double blind check of ALL academics to ensure they did not get into that place because of a pretty face and a nasty mind rather than having an excellent mind ......... whatever body, male or female, it happens to come packaged in.
- John, Aberdeen, UK, 27/05/2009 08:21
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'and I hope she is a woman.'
You kinda just blew your whole 'defense' out the window.
- Anon, London, 26/05/2009 15:03
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I'm afraid people will by now have concluded, possibly unfairly, that Padel was behind the campaign. Her good faith is indeed compromised -- not a good thing for a poet. And why does she hope the next Professor is a woman? Is she to be convicted of frivolity also?
- Martin Turner, Windlesham, Surrey, 26/05/2009 14:58
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'Error of judgement'? Funny. What she did was nothing less than a very calculated move to ensure she got the position.
- Yuzu, Kent, 26/05/2009 14:22
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