This is John Latham’s sixth collection of poems; it is bold, bracing and comforting. Latham is an award-winning poet, an eminent physicist and a research scientist who has studied meteorology and cloud formation for over forty years. The title poem won second prize in the UK’s 2006 National Poetry competition and it offers the first Read More
The Paths of Survival, Josephine Balmer’s third collection of poetry, is a captivating read. Balmer has used her background in translation and ancient history to create a series of addictive poetic narratives exploring Aeschylus’ infamous Greek tragedy, Myrmidons. I must admit, prior to reading this collection, I had never heard of the playwright Aeschylus or Read More
Robert Minhinnick’s newest volume of poetry comes to us in the form of a modest collection, wrapped in an austere white cover with narrow bands that leak bright, naturalistic details on closer inspection. Minhinnick, himself an established environmentalist, has filled his verse with wildlife and a sublime delight in nature. His “Song of Sleet” declares, Read More
Jim C Wilson’s pamphlet, Will I Ever Get To Minsk? packs in poems in a variety of forms, from sonnet and cinquain to triolet and villanelle, and covering a range of material from ekphrastic poems, celebrations of writers, McCaig, Tranter and George Bruce, and poems about childhood experiences. There’s a wit and lightness of Read More
If there was ever a poetry book that felt like a workout, this would be it. I don’t mean workout in the sense of a laborious or stressful task, but as a highly stimulating read. Mark Goodwin’s House At Out exercises the mind in every sense of the word. Mark Goodwin is a poet and Read More
[…] and when I enter the black grey waves, bobbing and bouncing, this emptiness inside me is the buoyancy, it keeps me up. Turbulent, cleansing, and uplifting. Dani Gill’s debut collection, After Love, is the textual equivalent of open water, purifying as it immerses. Serving as a kind of therapeutic act, the poet uses the Read More
life has become a postman each day dropping more envelopes of bad news through the letter box on which the name and address are never not yours. Bad News Good News Bad News is a contemporary poetry collection from Edward O’Dwyer all about contemporary living ‒ specifically, everything that’s wrong with it. O’Dwyer’s poetry focuses Read More
Clive James’ name suffices as its own introduction; with Poetry Notebook the Australian author, critic, broadcaster, poet, translator and memoirist excels again. Following his two most recent collections (Sentenced to Life and Injury Time) this was a moving, educating and stimulating read. James, as usual, writes with witty relish which both motivates and challenges in Read More
Already from the south I heard them weeks ago creaking above me through the air at dusk – and then the cold. Eighteen below, each pond a cataract of ice. Where did they go? Read More
It’s a pity Ross Hair’s Avant-Folk is aimed at the academic market-place – pricing it off the bookshelves for most of us – as there’s so much of interest and relevance to Scottish writers and readers. Hair examines the inter-connections and shared sensibilities of poet-artists including Ian Hamilton Finlay, Thomas A. Clark, Lorine Niedecker, Simon Cutts Read More