Discussing the Romantics was brilliant, even though the parameters are so wide, and the era full of disparate poets, motifs and agendas; the changing socio-political context, and how various philosophical responses manifest in the poetry was interesting to think about. Questions around nature, and the individual's relationship with their environment, demonstrated some of the tensions. Clare's criticism of Keats's imaginative rendering of his environment through myth was something I didn't know, that he felt Keats hadn't really looked at a nightingale. We could have gone on for hours, and we decided to do something similar with the metaphysical poets at some point next year.
Next month, though, we're getting more up-to-date with Roy Marshall's debut collection, The Sun Bathers, published last month by Shoestring Press. I love the front cover image, which is a linocut print by Sheffield-born artist Leonard Beaumont. Here's a link to the image on Roy's website, where there's also plenty of other information, including links to online poems.
Rhyme & Reason Bookshop, at Hunters Bar, will have copies from next week (w/c 11th Nov), and are offering a 10% discount for Poetry Cafe people. They've been busily extending their poetry range, so it's worth a visit, and as with so many independents, they'll appreciate the support.
And here's a link to Sphinx's review of Roy's pamphlet, Gopagilla.
The December Poetry Cafe at Bank Street Arts is on Wednesday, 4th December, from 12pm for the reading group, and from 1pm for the writing workshop.
Hope to see you there.
