In 2002 Vernon Scannell wrote the following: 'It has been my
firm belief since I first began to attempt the art of poetry that
the making of a poem should be, as Yeats asserted, a difficult
business. However, I have always felt reservations about what seems
to me the only partially true belief, stated by both Eliot and
Hopkins in their different ways, that the meaning of a poem is of
less significance than its structure and texture, Eliot's 'nice bit
of meat for the house-dog.' Ideally the poem should be the
perfection of expression of meaning inseparable from the methods by
which that expression is achieved. As Paul Valery has said, 'A man
is a poet if the difficulties inherent in his art provide him with
ideas; he is not a poet if they deprive him if ideas.'
That was an important statement, his credo. It can accurately be
said that almost every poem in this collected volume bears
testimony to it. Although not covering the full span of his career
- Scannell didn't die until 2007 and was writing almost literally
until the very end - the body of his work is here and how
impressive it is. On immaculate display is a conspectus of poems
embracing the narrative, lyrical, satirical and contemplative.
There are poems of pathos and comedy, intelligence and passion:
whatever their form, free verse or rhyming, tenor or subject, they
are executed with unfailing craftsmanship.
In his obituary of Vernon Scannell, Alan Brownjohn wrote, 'What
might have been considered unusual given a colourful, even
swashbuckling, personality that spawned innumerable anecdotes, was
his fastidious procedure as a poet, his unflinching focus on the
age-old themes of love, war and death, his concern for ''a real
involvement with living experience''. Craft and care, and for that
matter clarity and accessibility, were unquestionable necessities
if you were serious about the art; students on Scannell's creative
writing courses were liable to be sat down, hangover or not, to
write a sonnet after breakfast.''
'Scannell is one of what appears to be a vanishing breed, a poet
of technical accomplishment who understands that poetry, like the
other arts, is a craft as well.' Charles Osborne, "Sunday
Telegraph"
""
'You actually want to go back and revisit the poems many times.
Their shrewd structures hold their elements firmly in place and
they resonate also with the kind of humanity time is generous to .
. . Scannell has earned a place in the tradition of English
poetry.' Paul Fussell, "Poetry Review"
'. . . accurate, humane, humorous, often eloquent and always
well-made poems.' Anthony Thwaite, "Sunday Telegraph "
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!