There can be little doubt that there are some great lines and phrases in Douglas Dunn’s most recent volume of poems, “The Noise of a Fly”. However, in spite of this, I found myself distracted by a) the many lists that appear throughout the poems, b) the slavish adherence to the (sometimes too forced?) rhyming scheme in many of the pieces, and c) the occasional breaks (full-stops) in the middle of lines. I found myself wondering if the lists – and the occasional prosaic turns of phrase (which feel out-of-place here) – were sacrifices made to adhere to rhyme and meter.
Because of this, I found some of the poems particularly difficult to read (in my head). I just couldn’t get them to scan. Maybe it’s just me.
Anyway, some of what’s best in poetry – and some of what’s not…
Ian Gouge - Writer 