"There's no money in poetry, but then there's no poetry in money, either" Robert Graves
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:: February 2007 |
| The Clock Made of Confetti (Michael Salcman, 2007) | |
" It takes a long time, all those blossoms |
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| Comments: Czech-born Salcman is a renowned neurosurgeon and poet, living and working in Baltimore. His studies regarding the relationships in the brain between science and creativity have been widely published, and he is living proof of that mysterious alchemy. The author of three poetry chapbooks. The Clock Made of Confetti is his first collection. Just what the Doctor ordered. | |
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:: October 2006 |
| Swithering (Robin Robertson, 2005) | |
"Besieged by symmetries, condemned / to these patterns of love and loss, I stare at the wet shape on the tiles / till it fades; when she came and sat next to me after her swim and walked away back to the trees, she left a dark butterfly. |
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| Comments: Robin Robertson is from the northeast coast of Scotland and now lives in London. His latest acclaimed collection takes its title from the Scottish verb "to swither"; which means to suffer indecision or doubt. Enjoy. | |
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:: August 2006 |
| White Apples and the Taste of Stone: Selected Poetry (Donald Hall, 2006) | |
"In June's high light she stood at the sink / With a glass of wine. / And listened for the bobolink, / And crushed garlic in late sunshine. I watched her cooking, from my chair. / She pressed her lips / Together, reached for kitchenware, / And tasted sauce from her fingertips. 'It's ready now. Come on,' she said. / 'You light the candle.' / We ate, and talked, and went to bed. / And slept. It was a miracle." |
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| Comments: New US Poet Laureate Donald Hall issues his selected works from 60 outstanding years. His poems about his late wife, poet Jane Kenyon, will, literally, make you weep.. | |
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:: May 2006 |
| Birthday Letters (Ted Hughes, 1998) | |
"What I was really saying was: 'Stop crying wolf.' / Other thoughts, chilly, familiar thoughts, Came across the tightrope: 'Stop crying wolf, / Or else I shall not know, I shall not hear When things get really bad."" |
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| Comments: It took Ted Hughes over thirty years to publish a response to his life with Plath. It did little to appease Plath fans, but all critics agreed that the results are astounding. This work is very moving, and, somehow, unseemly. | |
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:: March |
| Ariel (Sylvia Plath, 1965) | |
"They have propped my head between the pillow and the sheet-cuff / Like an eye between two white lids that will not shut. So it is impossible to tell how many there are." |
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| Comments: Poor Syliva, remembered for her bairns, her baking and her suicidal tendencies, but not always for her poetry. When revisited, you realise how raw and strong it is - pain on the page. Her Ted Hughes, selected the poetry to be included in Ariel, and however he'd chosen to do it would have been controversial. Next time, we'll read his response to their life together in Birthday Letters. | |