If his "Selected Poems" (Ed. Peter Porter) is anything to go by, Lawrence Durrell's poetry has not travelled well through time. Whilst they may have been stylistically appropriate for the 30s and 40s, I fear that do not sit well in the twenty-first century. Many seem contrived and clumsy, with (sometimes inconsistent) rhyming schemes shoe-horned … Continue reading “Selected Poems” – Lawrence Durrell
Category: Poetry
The rewind button’s broken…
Why is it that so many of us live our lives - subconsciously or otherwise - as if there is a secret rewind button always available? A button that gifts us the opportunity to revisit past triumphs, to avoid horrible defeats; a button which permits us to take different decisions and make alternate choices. And … Continue reading The rewind button’s broken…
“Randomly Moving Particles”
Andrew Motion's "Randomly Moving Particles" is, in many ways, a quite remarkable tour de force of free verse; indeed, it is so 'free' that I am reminded of the narrative qualities of Robin Robertson's award-winning "The Long Take". Nowhere is the power of his work more in evidence than in 'How Do the Dead Walk', … Continue reading “Randomly Moving Particles”
Why you shouldn’t believe everything an Amazon page says about a book…
As a writer and Indie Publisher I am always grateful that my distributor and the Nielsen book registration service have direct feeds into major on-line retailers. This facility means that, as soon as a book is published, it usually appears on global websites within 24-48 hours. However, what appears is only as good as the … Continue reading Why you shouldn’t believe everything an Amazon page says about a book…
“in the event”
John Birtwhistle's latest collection of poetry, "in the event", is an intriguing and eclectic mix; a real pic'n'mix of the traditional and modern, the poetic and the prosaic. It is a 'something for everyone' kind of book. Which, in a way, is both a strength and a weakness. There are 'statement' pieces - the more … Continue reading “in the event”
A short memory of Jacques Berthoud
A few weeks ago, I attended - virtually, of course! - the Carcanet launch of John Birtwhistle's latest poetry collection, "in the event", with John himself reading. I met John just over forty years ago at the University of Southampton where I was studying English and John was 'writer-in-residence', or some such. There were writing … Continue reading A short memory of Jacques Berthoud
“Paper Aeroplane”
As my first real foray into the work of Simon Armitage, our Poet Laureate, I had expected fireworks from "Paper Aeroplane"... Unfortunately I found it more 'Sparkler' than giant 'Roman Candle'. Several things struck me about this volume, a collection culled from twenty-one of Armitage's other books: There didn't seem to be any consistent 'voice' … Continue reading “Paper Aeroplane”
“Selected Poems” – Denise Riley
In her poem 'Dark Looks', Riley says "So, take me or leave me ... or don't flick and skim to the foot of the page and then get up to go -" - which is precisely what I did do. After all, most of the time I had pretty much no idea what was going … Continue reading “Selected Poems” – Denise Riley
Speed-dating
OK. Let's get a couple of things clear up front... This post isn't about speed-datingActually I've never had any experience of speed-dating, so if you hear anything to the contrary they are just vile rumours So, speed-dating. The 'topic' - or at least the title of the topic - comes from a recent post of … Continue reading Speed-dating
“e.e.cummings: selected poems 1923-1958”
There can be few writers more generally inaccessible than e.e.cummings. By breaking so many conventions - both in the language and structure of poetry - perhaps the primary thing cummings' achieved was to release the traditional shackles and taboos which may have been constraining poetry in the first part of the twentieth century. You could … Continue reading “e.e.cummings: selected poems 1923-1958”
Ian Gouge - Writer 