4 out of 5 stars
I first came across Paul Farley in the brilliant Edgelands that he co-authored with Michael Symonds Roberts. I have read a couple of Symonds poetry now, but until I won a copy this I had not actually got to read one of his collections of poems.
There is no central theme to this collection, but around a quarter of the collection is about birds in one form or the other, even the title is short for Mistle Thrush and naturally, he has dedicated it to the great writer, Tim Dee. There are other poems about gadgets, poker, data miners and the ubiquitous hole in the wall.
The silence deepens. The world turns.
As with any collection, there were some poems that I liked more than others. I liked his selection of subjects and the way that he is happy to play with the rhythm and form depending on the writing. I read this in what seems like no time at all, and have since dipped back in every now and again to read some of the poems again whilst it was in the pile awaiting reviews and they have grown on me. Kind of now regret not reading some of his work before. As a small aside, the cover of this book is just beautiful, very much recommended.
Before we fell asleep while he stood guard
As the fire died and the stars formed above
Three (plus one) Favourite Poems
Life During the Great Acceleration
Goldcrest
Lark and Linnet
The Green Man
Leave a Reply