I do love a poem which undercuts cliches the way this one does. And I love a lamb's heart, wouldn't waste it on the dog though. Thank you Kim for flagging this up.
That's an incredible poem. Thanks for sharing, and I appreciate you taking the time to explain how it speaks to you too. Really helps to see how someone with a practised eye reads poetry!
This is the cleverest poem I've read in a while. A sad subject brought into the warmth of a northern, working class high street. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Ripa - I absolutely agree. And the rest of the book is brilliant as well! I am now thinking of all the things I didn't say about the poem, that it sits outside the collection in a way as a prologue before the other four sections of the book, about what it tells us about approach to form and structure etc etc.
Alas, all too familiar! You think it'll be lovely working in academia and then "In so many ways, it is much easier than state school primary and secondary school teaching - sometimes it feels as if that time of my life was a kind of fire that I walked through that made me a much better teacher. But there are other stresses - my teaching load is heavy this term: one MA poetry class in the evening, two Foundation units and one first year undergraduate unit. I’m supervising PhD students and final year undergraduates. I’ve just got to the end of marking from last term’s work. I’ve been valiantly trying to keep my Monday free to write, mostly so I could finish the short story I told you about in the last post and then just keeping my head down Tuesday to Friday with university work. But I also have my freelance life, which I can’t quite let go of - judging a poetry competition (more on that later in the month), giving a few readings, hosting a reading and some mentoring..." ME TOO. After 12 years in it I have gone part time, but.. still it goes on.. Now laid up with chest infection and exhaustion wondering if I will ever be able to write anything again..
I do love a poem which undercuts cliches the way this one does. And I love a lamb's heart, wouldn't waste it on the dog though. Thank you Kim for flagging this up.
That's an incredible poem. Thanks for sharing, and I appreciate you taking the time to explain how it speaks to you too. Really helps to see how someone with a practised eye reads poetry!
This is the cleverest poem I've read in a while. A sad subject brought into the warmth of a northern, working class high street. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Ripa - I absolutely agree. And the rest of the book is brilliant as well! I am now thinking of all the things I didn't say about the poem, that it sits outside the collection in a way as a prologue before the other four sections of the book, about what it tells us about approach to form and structure etc etc.
Alas, all too familiar! You think it'll be lovely working in academia and then "In so many ways, it is much easier than state school primary and secondary school teaching - sometimes it feels as if that time of my life was a kind of fire that I walked through that made me a much better teacher. But there are other stresses - my teaching load is heavy this term: one MA poetry class in the evening, two Foundation units and one first year undergraduate unit. I’m supervising PhD students and final year undergraduates. I’ve just got to the end of marking from last term’s work. I’ve been valiantly trying to keep my Monday free to write, mostly so I could finish the short story I told you about in the last post and then just keeping my head down Tuesday to Friday with university work. But I also have my freelance life, which I can’t quite let go of - judging a poetry competition (more on that later in the month), giving a few readings, hosting a reading and some mentoring..." ME TOO. After 12 years in it I have gone part time, but.. still it goes on.. Now laid up with chest infection and exhaustion wondering if I will ever be able to write anything again..
Thanks for sharing this magic poem Kim. Love your powerful noticing, too.