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The Wrecking Light
Robin Robertson's fourth collection is, if anything, an even more intense, moving, bleakly lyrical, and at times shocking book than "Swithering," winner of the Forward Prize. These poems are written with the authority of classical myth, yet sound utterly contemporary: the poet's gaze - whether on the natural world or the details of his own life - is unflinching and clear,...more
Paperback, 96 pages
Published
by Picador USA
(first published October 2nd 2010)
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Though Robin Robertson is a Scottish-born poet now living in London, England, there are moments in his latest book that will be familiar to any Winnipegger.
His "Signs On a White Field", about spring breakup on an unnamed lake, is particularly apt at this time of year:
"The rocks are ice-veined; the trees / swagged with snow. / Here and there, a sudden frost / has caught some turbulence in the water / and made it solid: frozen in its distress / to a scar, or a skin-graft."
The Wrecking Light (Anans...more
His "Signs On a White Field", about spring breakup on an unnamed lake, is particularly apt at this time of year:
"The rocks are ice-veined; the trees / swagged with snow. / Here and there, a sudden frost / has caught some turbulence in the water / and made it solid: frozen in its distress / to a scar, or a skin-graft."
The Wrecking Light (Anans...more
Really glad I've discovered Robin Robertson.
I'd had this on the shelf for a while, but it took being laid up with a horrible cold for me to read it (plenty of time in bed, resultant insomnia, short attention span; therefore poetry fit the bill).
Anyway, this collection is full of interesting things: cool observation, powerful retellings of Ovid, mysterious psychological ruminations, and intimations of the supernatural, all conveyed in language that's vivid and captivating without drawing attenti...more
I'd had this on the shelf for a while, but it took being laid up with a horrible cold for me to read it (plenty of time in bed, resultant insomnia, short attention span; therefore poetry fit the bill).
Anyway, this collection is full of interesting things: cool observation, powerful retellings of Ovid, mysterious psychological ruminations, and intimations of the supernatural, all conveyed in language that's vivid and captivating without drawing attenti...more
I think it's his realism (who knows what that means)-- but also his sense of the surreal and magical--that attract me to Robertson's poetry He can sort of do anything--from the short, Haiku-esque little reflections, to semi-epic story telling poems. His description is both raw and precise.
Here's a little teaser:
from Leaving St. Kilda
All eyes stay fixed
on the great sea-citadel, this
mountain range returning to the waves,
all eyes hold the gaze of the rocks
as the boat turns east--as if
to look away...more
Here's a little teaser:
from Leaving St. Kilda
All eyes stay fixed
on the great sea-citadel, this
mountain range returning to the waves,
all eyes hold the gaze of the rocks
as the boat turns east--as if
to look away...more
A star for each of the poems that meant something to me: 'Tulips', and 'Easter, Liguria'.
He's quite sentimental. I don't care much for poems that are 'after' other poets. His voice often seemed dry and quiet. I'm not one for reading other people's observations, either.
Sometimes poetry is the best thing in the fucking universe, you see, but sometimes it isn't.
He's quite sentimental. I don't care much for poems that are 'after' other poets. His voice often seemed dry and quiet. I'm not one for reading other people's observations, either.
Sometimes poetry is the best thing in the fucking universe, you see, but sometimes it isn't.
My favorite recent nonacademic read has been the Scottish poet Robin Robertson’s fourth verse collection The Wrecking Light, a series of lyrics both vicious and graceful, never bathetic and sometimes baleful, and constantly watchful of the brittle interweaving of natural and manmade worlds. - Aziz Huq
I enjoy his poems. The way he lay out the words seems simple but powerful of evoking of the emotion.
Thanks Ed brought me to the this bookshop in Sydney Suburb --Glebe, where I found this collection.
Thanks Ed brought me to the this bookshop in Sydney Suburb --Glebe, where I found this collection.
A few great vocabulary juxtapositions that were effectively trenchant, but the swings between literary name dropping (pompous) and regret (mawkish) killed the flavor for me.
A beautiful book of poetry touching a wide array of subjects and influences, from the mundane to the epic. As the title suggests, the book is full of dark moments, but there are light ones, too, almost to help make the dark seem that much bleaker. Still, it's beautiful.
Very disappointing. Some good material here, but, but, but...
Like this: break-your-face bleak but without even a tinge of adolescence; well crafted and contextualized; perfect diction; excruciating; Scottish.
Robertson's book, on the whole, is enjoyable. He occasionally crosses the line of sentimentality, especially in the first section of the book. The other two sections are delightful, and, in fact, they allowed me to enjoy the first section even more during additional readings of the book.
KOBOBOOKS
Reviewed by The Guardian
Reviewed by The Guardian
Mar 07, 2013
Sam Millen
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Another one to add to the favourites list, been looking for a read like this for a long time. Loved it :). "How long have I been leaving?"
Apr 24, 2013
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Dec 02, 2011 10:50pm