Sean a fair appraisal of Keston. He seems to get mixed responses. Here’s a piece which mentions him slightly disparagingly in passing

http://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2012/04/15/poetry-on-trial-2-poetry-and-tribalism-by-jon-stone/

and this piece is slightly critical of an interview he did

https://bebrowed.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/keston-sutherland-interviewed-at-length/





----------------Original Message----------------

Sean Carey wrote:

Keston is alive and well and networking so it is business as usual Peter. I bought a much acclaimed book by Keston on Google Play expecting to be blown off my feet. The reviews were on about Keston revealing his soul so I bought the blurbs. Then the reviews as well as interviews looked fantastic and the title referred to a washing machine code. 

Sadly rather than being blown off my feet I found myself looking in vain for Keston's soul in a very elusive textual context. All that was there was word salad post Prynne fare that looked tired and jaded. I recall that day "Sweet Soul Music" was on the radio sung by Arthur Conley. Otis Redding nurtured Arthur and that song is pure poetry. It made Keston's "masterpiece" seem very flat indeed which left me no longer buying anymore of his work. He still appears in my Amazon plus Google Play suggestions but in my poety I like rhythm soul as well as directness. When Paul Buck in his work and editing of Curtains got direct on erotic BDSM  subject matter there was no evasion. Keston's  text in comparison is evasive & lacks  honesty in a sincere sense. Of course there was Keston's playing to the gallery neo Marxist stance coupled with some lovely lyrical sections. But for me the reviews copped out on the actual content because it was Keston Sutherland. In blunt terms the book is a total failure & not in the slightest bit honest. If Keston aimed at a confessional account of his personal life and times he failed to pull it off. I saw better work in Paul Buck's Curtains magazine decades ago. Being an old political buff also means I fully grasp Keston's politics which I am sure go down well in Essex & in London & Cambridge.

Many decades ago a term used against Iain McLeod was "too clever by half" in a political context. Iain died one month after moving into number 11 Downing Street but my own recall of him related to bridge. He was a top class professional bridge player who was very very hard to beat. In Bantry Bay I recall Duncan Sandys then a minister heading off up to Bantry House. The guest on the ample Sandys craft moored near the shore was Iain McLeod. Local bridge buffs as well as players from Tralee and Limerick had had a bridge session judged by Iain McLeod. Many prospered from Iain's genius at bridge long into their careers. No doubt about it Iain was a class act who could have played bridge full time. One or two tips from Iain could have landed one in exotic places living off bridge. 

What has a forgotten Conservative minister got to do with Keston Sutherland? Just as Iain McLeod excelled at bridge Keston is a major poetic talent. To say otherwise would be absurd as well as unfair and my own letdown on one book matters little. Keston is a steller star of modern British poetry & I am on the extreme margins. Any efforts to lure Keston out of ivory tower fell on deaf ears yet many far better known poets are not as anti social as Keston Sutherland. I am sure if I had a nest egg to offer Keston would quickly dash off a response. Yet to dismiss him outright would be a huge error & he knows his market. Those who love his work will stand by him regardless so Keston Sutherland will hopefully be around for decades to come. 

The absurd acclaim for Keston reflects a dull poetic culture that badly needs new names & faces. As the older generation are lost to us we must set far higher standards & not let a Cambridge clique of wannabes don the Prynne mantle. "Make it new" may seem corny now but is there a serious poetic talent on the British & Irish horizons?

sc