Queuing for the Sun

by U.A. Fanthorpe

Poems. Fanthorpe's 8th collection.

Genres: Poetry

92 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Ursula Askham Fanthorpe (published as U. A. Fanthorpe) was an English poet. She was educated at St Catherine's School, Bramley in Surrey and at St Anne's College, Oxford, where she received a first-class degree in English language and literature, and subsequently taught English at Cheltenham Ladies' College for sixteen years. She then abandoned teaching for jobs as a secretary, receptionist and hospital clerk in Bristol - in her poems, she later remembered some of the patients for whose records she had been responsible.

Her first volume of poetry, Side Effects, was published in 1978. She was "Writer-in-Residence" at St Martin's College, Lancaster (now University of Cumbria)(1983–85), as well as Northern Arts Fellow at Durham and Newcastle Universities.

In 1987 Fanthorpe went freelance, giving readings around the country and occasionally abroad. In 1994 she was nominated for the post of Professor of Poetry at Oxford. Her nine collections of poems were published by Peterloo Poets. Her Collected Poems came out in 2005. Many of her poems are for two voices. In her readings the other voice is that of Bristol academic and teacher R.V. "Rosie" Bailey, Fanthorpe's life partner of 44 years. The couple co-wrote a collection of poems, From Me To You: Love Poems, that was published in 2007 by Enitharmon.

Reviews

[robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

this collection mostly showcases fanthorpe at her best: dry, funny, a little biting, with an eye for the sweetly human in the most mundane of things. there are a few poems in here that land a little too heavily on the twee side for me (the apple war… girl!) but they’re vastly outnumbered by the good - the titular poem and ‘on the north face’ in particular are standouts not just of this collection but of fanthorpe’s work as a whole, imo

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love U.A. Fanthorpe's poetry - she's been one of my favourite poets since I first encountered her in my teens. I got this collection from the library.

Fanthorpe has always had a deft touch and has often managed to create deeply moving poems which don't go for the solar plexus in an emotional punch, but which just cause a sense of unease with their quiet, dispassionate sympathy. And of course, so many of her poems are leavened with her quiet, sparkling humour.

This collection seemed to have a more pronounced feeling of melancholy than the earlier ones I've read. She's drawn (especially in the poems making up the first part of the book) on ancient history, but even as we move into modern times, there has been more sadness and less to laugh at. The poetry is still wonderful, skilful, moving - but possibly the collection feels less 'whole' than previous ones have.

Still, there will be a few poems copied into my commonplace book before this goes back to the library.