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Bear Ridge to Nettle Lane
141 long and short-form poems about the life of an English novelist and her daily walks with three dogs, her memories of rural England and the life of a writer.
78 pages, Paperback
First published July 4, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 30, 2012
The table that houses my computer also groans under the weight of books to be read, to be reviewed, to be discarded, as well as miscellaneous junk. The books are a moveable feast. They are devoured in order, then consigned to bookshelves or charity shop bags, etc. A very small number, however, stay put. One is the current Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook. Another is Chambers’ dictionary. And the third, ever since I bought it some months ago, is Rachel Green’s “Bear Ridge to Nettle Lane”. Why? Because I like reading it. Simple as that. I love to pick it up, open at random, and read a poem. I’m not ready to file it away on a bookshelf. Not yet.
The ‘product description’ on amazon describes this book as: 141 long and short-form poems about the life of an English novelist and her daily walks with three dogs, her memories of rural England and the life of a writer. I like that description. It gives a sense of both timelessness and of escape from gadgets, consumerism, politics, facebook, and a host of other annoyances that will intrude on a writers’ time.
Rachel’s walks with her dogs often take her through a cemetery. This has inspired some of her best and most poignant poetry. Here is one of my favourites:
Plotting for Three
Visiting the cemetery was somewhere
between merriment and weeping –
after the three of them were married
(private ceremony, no reporters)
but before the first of them died
(accidental death, the coroner ruled).
Perhaps winter was not the best time to view plots,
when blackthorn hedges glowered
with plastic bags clutched in thorny grips
and chestnut vied with beech
to make the sweetest, sickliest scent
of rotting nuts and winter-wet leaves
but the eldest, in fur-trimmed hat and tweed cape,
saw past the waterlogged graves
to the starry-eyed gleam
of blackberry blossom and summer fruits.
“Here,” she said, “Here,
where the rain will remember our passing.”
The dogs, of course, make an appearance every so often. Here they are, in one of the delightful short poems that punctuates the collection:
Bear
is too hot
to eat
Jack helps out and
wolfs his biscuits
I started writing this review at least an hour ago but have become side-tracked by re-reading the poems. I want to quote them all, but that would be absurd, so if you’ll please excuse me, I’m going to stop, post this review, and get back to reading...
The ‘product description’ on amazon describes this book as: 141 long and short-form poems about the life of an English novelist and her daily walks with three dogs, her memories of rural England and the life of a writer. I like that description. It gives a sense of both timelessness and of escape from gadgets, consumerism, politics, facebook, and a host of other annoyances that will intrude on a writers’ time.
Rachel’s walks with her dogs often take her through a cemetery. This has inspired some of her best and most poignant poetry. Here is one of my favourites:
Plotting for Three
Visiting the cemetery was somewhere
between merriment and weeping –
after the three of them were married
(private ceremony, no reporters)
but before the first of them died
(accidental death, the coroner ruled).
Perhaps winter was not the best time to view plots,
when blackthorn hedges glowered
with plastic bags clutched in thorny grips
and chestnut vied with beech
to make the sweetest, sickliest scent
of rotting nuts and winter-wet leaves
but the eldest, in fur-trimmed hat and tweed cape,
saw past the waterlogged graves
to the starry-eyed gleam
of blackberry blossom and summer fruits.
“Here,” she said, “Here,
where the rain will remember our passing.”
The dogs, of course, make an appearance every so often. Here they are, in one of the delightful short poems that punctuates the collection:
Bear
is too hot
to eat
Jack helps out and
wolfs his biscuits
I started writing this review at least an hour ago but have become side-tracked by re-reading the poems. I want to quote them all, but that would be absurd, so if you’ll please excuse me, I’m going to stop, post this review, and get back to reading...
February 16, 2011
Glorious peek into the very typically English (but very much less than typical otherwise) life of the author and those who surround her.
Fabulous poetry, which effortlessly paints a marvellous picture of everyday smiles, tears, laughter and journeys shared.
Enjoy with great pleasure, I certainly did.
Fabulous poetry, which effortlessly paints a marvellous picture of everyday smiles, tears, laughter and journeys shared.
Enjoy with great pleasure, I certainly did.
August 8, 2010
Collected poems
Of Derbyshire life, dog walks,
Memories and sheds
Of Derbyshire life, dog walks,
Memories and sheds
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews