Poetry Notebook - 2006–2014 Clive James

Poetry Notebook - 2006–2014 - Clive James

Renowned critic and bestselling writer Clive James sets down his thoughts on the 

art form which matters to him most: poetry

Clive James is one of our finest critics and best-loved cultural voices. He is also a 
prize-winning poet.Since he was first enthralled by the mysterious power of poetry, he has 
been a dedicated student. 
In fact, for Clive, poetry has been nothing less than the occupation of a lifetime, and in this 
book he presents a distillation of all he's learned about the art form that matters to him most.

With his customary wit, delightfully lucid prose style and wide-ranging knowledge, Clive 
explains the difference between the innocuous stuff that often passes for poetry today and a 
real poem: the latter being a work of unity that insists on being heard entire and threatens 
never to leave the memory. A committed formalist and an astute commentator, Clive offers 
close and careful readings of individualpoems and poets (from Shakespeare to Larkin, Keats
to Pound), and in some case second readings or re-readings late in life - just to be sure he 
wasn't wrong the first time! Whether discussing technical details of metaphorical creativity or 
simply praising his five favourite collections of all time, he is never less than captivating.

Filled with insight and written with an honest, infectious enthusiasm, Poetry Notebook is the
product of over fifty years of writing, reading, translating and thinking about poetry.

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Picador - NZ$37.99
ISBN: 9781447269106
Hardcover  
Number of pages: 192