I don't know, Doug, I've just had chance to explore the poems a little
and there seems to be an awful lot of bathetic writing. Her technique
seems to be to slap two lines together and -hey presto- you a distich.
I got as far as 'All Life is One' and had to retire, I couldn't take
anymore cliche.
I bet it'll become a cult.
On 23/04/2008, Douglas Barbour <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Taking a brief look, the 'book' contains a lot (I mean A Lot) of prose,
> explanation, analysis I guess you could say), & even in the section beyond
> the long Intro, more of same, huge quotations, etc. I read the first actual
> poem, & it's okay, but I'm not sure that someone who wanted to know, to
> learn, about the Human Genome would go there rather than to some scientific
> introduction. On the other hand, her earlier books have certainly won some
> high plaudits from various poets & reviewers...
>
> Doug
>
> On 22-Apr-08, at 3:27 PM, David Bircumshaw wrote:
>
>
> > I've just been listening to BBC Radio 3's 'Night Waves' programme, as
> > a break from reading poems in Catalan (I hope you are all suitably
> > impressed with the pretentiousness of that statement). It included the
> > Scots poet Gillian K. Ferguson whose Internet developed sequence on
> > the human genome, Poems from the Book of Life, is to be launched, it
> > said, this weekend.
> > Actually it already seems to be up and running, if you go to:
> >
> >
> http://www.thehumangenome.co.uk/THE_HUMAN_GENOME/About.html
> >
> > and take it from there, it gives the poet and the project. My point of
> > interest, though, for I confess I've only glanced at her site so far,
> > was that while listening to her read on the radio I could discern
> > nothing about the form or particular rhythms of the writing. There was
> > possibly a sense of a slightly more heightened rhythm than you would
> > get from prose but nothing more. That's not a judgement on her
> > writing, but a few moments' impression of what comes across.
> > Having said that, I'll go back now to the marvellous sound patterns of
> > Josip Vicent's Catalan, with whom I'll be reading on Monday night
> > next. (I plan on doing something with the plain English translations I
> > have of them)
> >
> > Best
> >
> > Dave
> >
> > --
> > David Bircumshaw
> > Website and A Chide's Alphabet
> http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.bircumshaw/
> > The Animal Subsides
> http://www.arrowheadpress.co.uk/books/animal.html
> > Leicester Poetry Society:
> http://www.poetryleicester.co.uk
> >
> >
>
> Douglas Barbour
> [log in to unmask]
>
> http://www.ualberta.ca/~dbarbour/
>
> Latest books:
> Continuations (with Sheila E Murphy)
> http://www.uap.ualberta.ca/UAP.asp?LID=41&bookID=664
> Wednesdays'
> http://abovegroundpress.blogspot.com/2008/03/new-from-aboveground-press_10.html
>
> A little planet blues, for the
> deathwatch.
> A season of rictus riffs.
>
> Dennis Lee
>
--
David Bircumshaw
Website and A Chide's Alphabet http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.bircumshaw/
The Animal Subsides http://www.arrowheadpress.co.uk/books/animal.html
Leicester Poetry Society: http://www.poetryleicester.co.uk
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