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ZEAL by ANDREW BAILEY (Poetry B

REVISITING THE CANTERBURY TAL

8 x POP MUSIC HAIKUS

POET-IN-RESIDENCE

WHITE GLOVES

LOST IN THE RANDOM

ALMOST A YEAR

CAROL ANN DUFFY ENVY

DAYLIGHT ROBBERY

MICK JAGGER'S CHATEAU

LOST IN THE RANDOM

Battle, partaken,
legendary, omega,
entitle, situate,
ivory, teaspoon,
recorder, coped,
hoarder, glucose,
poker, sensitive,
strident, arrest,
bulletin, shapes,
tightrope walker,
lengthy, ordered,
talented, resin,
abyss, arrogant,
two-step, courier,
keep a low profile,
neater, adherent.


From his inside world,
he would stare 
at the crossword answers,
his only mental activity
as each day bled into night into day,
not understanding it,
but trying to make sense of it.


Lost in the random.

REVISITING THE CANTERBURY TALES (FOR £3.99!)

THE CANTERBURY TALES

By Geoffrey Chaucer

Wordsworth Poetry Library

Wordsworth Editions

£3.99

www.wordsworth-editions.com

The poet, the poetry reader, the teacher, the student of language and literature, and lovers of wonderful words generally and classical works specifically, have an opportunity with Wordsworth Editions to invest as little as £3.99 in books that have stood and will continue to stand the test of time.  Visit the Wordsworth Editions website www.wordsworth-editions.com to see the full range of books available. 

Many years have passed since I read The Canterbury Tales, a challenge and a chore for a young schoolboy and it was with not very fond memories that I picked up this 700-page Wordsworth Edition.  But, whatever happened and however it happened, from my school years in the 1960s to now, I found fresh enthusiasm as I started to read the tales again, helped along by the explanatory margin notes in the book, and gradually succumbed to the wonders within Chaucer’s writing.

Now it would be dishonest to suggest that I have read and absorbed every word of this extraordinary work, but I have read enough to be reminded of the complexities and marvels on offer from writing that dates back to the 14^th Century.

There will be those readers who will know the book very well but there will be others who shy away from such classic literature because it is seen as a difficult text, requiring patient concentration and time, two commodities that seem to be in decline in this hi-tech, high-speed, rush-rush modern age.  But, I promise you, if you stick with it, The Canterbury Tales will not disappoint you, and you will find clever storytelling, delicious wit, drama and a wondrous smattering of Medieval English words and phrases to boggle and amuse.  It is a work like no other.

For the uninitiated, The Canterbury Tales collects the stories of thirty pilgrims who meet at the Tabard Inn, Southwark in south-east London.  They decide to travel together to the shrine of St Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral.  Along the way they tell their stories.  The tales cover a number of themes including religion, human nature, morality, women in society, marital relationships, honour, truth and chivalry.  The binding ingredient, humour, is evident throughout.

This is not holiday beach reading.  It's not for the impatient, nor is it a page-turner by modern standards.  But it is a treasure chest of exemplary writing for those who truly want to understand the lengths to which a writer went to stretch the English language and to tell stories in a unique way.

It is challenging. It is annoying, It is frustrating.  It is unique. It is The Canterbury Tales.  Oh, and did I mention that at £3.99, it is a bargain - almost ten times cheaper than a train from London to Canterbury.  Now, that’s a tale the pilgrims would not believe.

ALMOST A YEAR

Almost a year,
trees a little taller,
world a little darker,
rain falling today
and just as wet,
tears for good times,
tears of regret,
in two days it's here,
almost a year.

POET-IN-RESIDENCE

Ad-verse (sic) - sponsored by, er, me!


I'll not be Poet Laureate,
(big loss to the nation),
I plough on with my verse
with its fun and frustration.


I am Poet-in-Residence,
wherever I reside,
a journeyman wordsmith,
(t&cs applied).


I can find phrases
to inspire and amuse,
to improve morale,
wherever you choose.


I can do slogans,
write the odd ditty,
I can do serious,
I can do witty.


I can write lyrics,
I can write features,
work with executives,
editors and teachers


If you want some samples,
if you want a flavour,
browse this blog's archive
for something to savour.


I'm writer for hire,
with professional aplomb,
contact joecushnan@aol.com




Email: joecushnan@aol.com
Twitter: @JoeCushnan
Twitter: @PoetryPleeze


Daily Poetry blog: http://droppedthemoon.blogspot.co.uk/
Daily Retail/Business blog: http://retailconfidentialbook.blogspot.co.uk/

WHITE GLOVES

He slipped on the first white glove,
then the second, adjusted the snugness,
flexed his fingers unnecessarily
before walking to the table,
pausing for a long, lingering look
at the yellowed, frail, delicate book.


He moved to open it, stopping
to absorb the moment - he, here, now
and ancient it lying on a velvet cloth, exposed
for a rare viewing outside the locked cabinet,
two centuries, an antiquity, beautiful, rare,
white gloves reminding to handle with care.


As he positioned one clothed finger to lift the cover,
of the significance of the moment, he had no doubt,
unaware for a short time.....seconds.....minutes,
that he had neither breathed in nor out.

ZEAL by ANDREW BAILEY (Poetry Book Review)

ZEAL

By Andrew Bailey

Enitharmon £9.99

http://www.enitharmon.co.uk/index.asp

For another review project, I have been re-reading “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer, that challenging, unique classic tome with its weird language and elaborate composition.  Whilst not searching for any specific comparisons here, I realised quickly that Andrew Bailey’s debut poetry collection, “Zeal”, has one thing in common with Chaucer’s masterpiece – it requires concentration……and time.…..and re-reading, to understand and absorb the themes, the nuances, the observations and emotions therein.  There is nothing throwaway in his fine collection of poems.  It seems clear that every word and phrase has been chosen painstakingly and positioned in precisely the right place on the page for maximum effect. There is something very special going on in this volume.  Not all poets are as meticulous as Andrew Bailey but it is right and proper to acknowledge his skill, his intelligent craftsmanship with language and his poetic powers.  He leads us and we follow.

There is a lot of sand, water, rain, wind and other natural ingredients driving his poems.  Love and sex make guest appearances too.  The challenges and conflicts of nature interweave with personal feelings, hopes, regrets and doubts.  “Quickening” is a strong opening poem: ‘Where surf fusses at the definitions/of sandy water, watery sand, a tethered boat/enjoys support from both./I promised once to sail,/one hand in sea one hand in sky,/for the point where they would meet/and I would learn some undefined/but Eleusinian thing. I learned/about how to be wet.’

The killer lines of some of the work stick with you.  From “Chill”, ‘moon as faint as a misprint”; from “Dream”, “Dream is headfill”; from “Halloween, ‘a cobweb past noon’; from “Coastal”, ‘We will speak like sandpaper’; from “Aspire”, ‘each particle of sand aspires to pearl’.  I know I’m teasing you here with scraps but back to my original point, the words and phrases are plotted and knitted together beautifully.  The poetry, although cryptic at times, is sublime.

In my experience, if you have read a poetry book and remembered nothing, it wasn’t much of a book.  But if you remembered something, the seed has been sown for you to return to the work again and again, or to urge you find out more about the poet. On reading “Zeal”, you will want more.

I urge you to buy this book and then to promise that you will respect it and it’s author by giving it your full concentration and a fair chunk of time.  It will be well worth it and you will feel all the better for introducing yourself to a deep thinking but rather exciting new poet.

More, please.