The poems in The Gifts of Fortune, Peter McDonald's seventh book of
poems, cover a spectrum of personal history. They go to Belfast,
Oxford, and further afield; in time they visit the poet's pasts,
his now, his possible futures. Autobiographical detail abounds:
McDonald's experiences (as a workingclass boy in Belfast, who
dreams of leaving, and a middleaged Oxford don, who dreams of going
back) are filtered through a deep instinct for poetic tradition. At
the heart of the book are two sequences: one, 'Mud', in which
family, professional, and literary histories are combined in
strictly formal, but personally unguarded, reflections on poetry,
class, and privilege; and another, 'Blindness', where a series of
tenline units test poetic form to (and beyond) breaking-point, in a
meditation on family and suffering, disappointment and hope. Other
poems return to themes of wealth and poverty, love and loss, and
the alienation and puzzlement of age. Throughout the book, form is
ghosted by the formless, hovering just beyond the frame; and
Fortune vies with Fate, quite another force.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
