Poetry Review: LATE IN THE DAY, by Ursula K Le Guin

Ursula K Le Guin

LATE IN THE DAY: Poems 2010 -2014

PM Press, 2015

112 pages

Poetry

Ursula K Le Guin has written some phenomenal books over the years. Whether it is fantasy or science fiction, she always masters the genre. She’s a prolific novelist, and very much deserves her popularity. And here she has delved into the world of poetry. To say I was excited about this book is to evoke a huge understatement. 

She’s been writing this poetry for five years, and it shows in the variety she displays here. She does not adhere to a particular form or style, but instead branches out across many. She gives her reasoning in a short essay at the end of the book: she does not what to be restricted by a particular rhyme scheme or meter, but instead wants to create poetry that works however it may come to work. So she plays around and experiments with the ultimate result of an eclectic variety of poems.

The poems vary from accounts of real world things such as New Year’s Day and kitchen spoons to those that draw on elements of classicism and fantasy. I enjoyed in particular the four line poems that did wonders at evoking a single emotion or place. They were strong and visceral. The one that stood out to me though in the entire collection was one called “Dead Languages.” I’ve quoted the first stanza of it here: 

“Dreadful, this death, dragging

so many lives and lively minds along

after it into unmeaning,

endless, imbecile silence.”

How ominous it sounds. The language of a people has died, and with it has come woe and misery. What is left of the culture has no meaning; it has only silence. This is never ending because when it has been undone it cannot be remade as it once was. With language comes meaning, a way of viewing the world and a way of transporting culture and history. Kill a man’s language, and you kill the man’s past; thus, what is left is the imbecile. Whatever the language once was will never be understood; hence, the fall into unmeaning silences. Le Guin ends with the lines:

“to speak the tongues unspoken

and hear a human music otherwise unheard.”

The word music is the key. For culture rich in oral tradition, the language literally held so much of what constituted the people. For it to be unspoken is for it to be lost entirely. This poem has particular relevance in a postcolonial word where so much of traditional African culture was destroyed by the actions of the West. For me this poem reads like a lament, a statement of grief of what the world has lost and will never get back.

So this is just one of many poems in here. It’s a highly creative book, one that proves that Le Guin can write poetry just as well as she can prose. I would recommend this to fans of her novels, and also for those who want to read a little bit of contemporary poetry. There are many current themes explored in here, all of which are embellished by a modern sounding voice

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Bookworm Sean is a book obsessed English student who can usually be found over on Goodreads raving about his latest read. Recently, poetry has become one of his favorite literary forms of expression; thus he has started to read more and more of it.

Poetry Review: FOREVER WORDS: The Unknown Poems

Johnny Cash
FOREVER WORDS: The Unknown Poems
Blue Rider Press / Canongate Books, 2016
144 pages
Poetry

Johnny cash was much more than he seemed, as the “Man in Black” he acquired a reputation. Such a label does nothing but reduce his personality down to a dark and sombre state, which is drastically unfair. Indeed, as indicated by John Carter Cash’s forward, none of us really knew his farther. Most of all Cash was human; he had many layers, some of which his words began to reveal and some of which will never be known.

Whilst working my way through this collection, I couldn’t help but hear Cash’s voice in my head. I’m a big fan of his music, and I’m familiar with a large number of his tracks. Perhaps because of this it came through when reading in a similar metre. Some of the longer poems were eerily familiar. I could hear him singing with his strong pronunciation of certain words. It was a wonderful experience.

Of particular note for me was a poe

m called “Forever.” The title of this edition was clearly named after it, and it is the strongest one in here:

“You tell me that I must perish

Like the flowers that I cherish

Nothing remaining of my name

Nothing remembered of my fame

But the trees that I planted

Still are young

The Songs I sang

Will still be sung”

It was written just a few months before his death in 2003. And for me it says a great deal. He speaks to his creator; he questions his fate. Death is coming for him, as it does for all of us, and he spits in the face of his end. He may perish, but his songs will be sung. His name may diminish, his notoriety forgotten, but his songs will still be sung. At the day of his death he is still young. His body is old, and his heart heavy, but his songs are young. They will always be remembered. In a sense, he cheats death as his words enter the realms of immortality: the realms of forever.

To relate back to my original point of layers, as strong as this poem is, it stands in direct contrast to the track “Hurt.” The lyrics of this speak a different tale, of a man who would gladly put aside his “empire of dirt” and do things a little differently if given a second chance. This was released in 2002, and the point is he clearly felt conflicted things about his name and legacy. Just a year later his words sounded more accepting and resigned. Cash was a complex man; these poems do show a glimpse him no matter how brief or how fleeting it may be.

Due to the nature of the writing here, I only recommend this to those who are already familiar with the artist himself. If you are not a fan, this won’t be for you.

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Bookworm Sean is a book obsessed English student who can usually be found over on Goodreads, raving about his latest read. Recently poetry has become one of his favorite literary forms of expression; thus he has started to read more and more of it.

Poetry Review: DOROTHY WORDSWORTH'S CHRISTMAS BIRTHDAY, by Carol Anne Duffy

Carol Anne Duffy (Illustrator: Tom Duxbury)
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH'S CHRISTMAS BIRTHDAY
Picador
Poetry

How awful it would be to have your birthday on Christmas day of all days.

I have my birthday right in the middle of the year, which is quite lucky because I have two big days to look forward to every six months. It is not all doom and gloom though for Dorothy. Her birthday maybe on Christmas day, but her brother is the wonderful William Wordsworth.

So that means along with his own poetic genius, he also brings that of his best friend Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The three of them can spend Christmas, and Dorothy’s birthday, relaxing and reciting poetry in the beautiful winter Lake District of northwest England. Not a half bad idea if you ask me. In fact, I am rather jealous.

I love this poem probably because I love the work of both poets. The idea of a fictional poem about a possible Christmas they could have had together is really quite enchanting. It is evocative of the Romantic era and the poetry of it. Not in terms of stylistic qualities, but in terms of the imagery and the allusions Duffy uses. It is really quite admirable. The art work that goes alongside the text, with its swirls of orange and blue, is stunning and captures the dream like essence of the work. It is easily my favourite Christmas poem. I read it every year at this time, and imagine the image:

All in each other, Miss Wordsworth and the poets, bawling the chorus; their voices drifting, In 1799, To nowhen, nowhere…..

These lines make me visualise it in stunning clarity; it is a cold 25th December that is on the cusp of a new century; the three walk hand in hand together completely at one with their surroundings, with nature itself, united by their mutual friendship and affection. It is an image that has been captured, like a still-life painting, before the eventual disagreement between the two poets shattered the image. This was a time when they were happy, when they had hope for the future, and this is a poem that captures the meaning of Christmas: the simple act of being with those you love most in the world. It is perfect.

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Bookworm Sean is a book obsessed English student who can usually be found over on Goodreads raving about his latest read. Recently, poetry has become one of his favorite literary forms of expression; thus he has started to read more and more of it. Look for Sean on Facebook, as well!

Poetry Review: TEACHING MY MOTHER HOW TO GIVE BIRTH, by Warsan Shire

Warsan Shire

TEACHING MY MOTHER HOW TO GIVE BIRTH
Mouthmark
Poetry

Through Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth the empowerment of women becomes like a burning tempest kindled up by the rawness of Warsan Shire’s words. The poems are also about reality, the horrors that some people have to face in a word driven by war. They carry with them such human depth, none more so than the poem In Love and In War. 

“To my daughter I will say
‘when the men come, set yourself on fire.’”

The poem is only two lines, but it establishes the tone for the rest of the work; it acts like a summary for one of her strongest ideals, that of personal and cultural integrity.

Shire does not compromise. The idea of setting oneself on fire is tangible to suicide. The men are coming, the soldiers and sons of war, so let us end it before they can touch us. This can be read as an act by a woman burning herself to avoid the objectifying effects that are coming her way. Historically speaking, the women of an invaded country often become the greatest victims. We all know what humans can do when in a blood frenzy. By committing suicide these daughters can avoid the worse of such possible crimes. But the act of setting oneself on fire can be read in a different way, a much brighter way.

Like all great poetry, multiple readings come out of Shire’s words. I like to think of the fire as a metaphorical flame of individuality. When the invaders come, set your hearts ablaze and remember who you are; remember your culture; remember your language: remember you. When the men come do no lose this sense of you to the superimposing of another’s beliefs. Become angry, fight against it, rage at the injustice and learn how to beat it. But at the very root of it all, never ever forget. In such an idea Shire establishes the authority of the individual’s voice.

How about love? As a woman entering a relationship set yourself on fire in the same sense, do not become meek and docile: do not allow him to take over. This reading feels like one of the strongest. If you compare this to the ideas that are manifested in the spoken word poem For Women Who are Difficult to Love it becomes more evident. The ideas empower women and suggest that if you are volatile, if your personality is like that of a fire, do not quench yourself: carry on. Be yourself, he is not worthy if he cannot love you for you: keep that fire burning.

There’s also another reading that comes here, tangible to the first instance of suicide. When men are near and love is close, set yourself on fire and avoid heartache. But, I do not overly belief in this one; it can be read in the poem, but when comparing it to Shire’s body of work it seems far too pessimistic. Shire is about empowering women not destroying life. She is a humanist; thus, there is much to be taken from her words. They are words that need to be heard now more than ever as the world becomes increasingly multi-cultural and transgendered, understanding the perspective of others is vital for the development of a more accepting world. This is a very powerful collection of poetry.

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Bookworm Sean is a book obsessed English student who can usually be found over on Goodreads raving about his latest read. Recently, poetry has become one of his favorite literary forms of expression; thus he has started to read more and more of it. Look for Sean on Facebook, as well!