An outstanding collection of poems by Tom Paulin, one of Britain's most original poets and literary critics
"o chitterin chatterin platinum licht
the bow shall be in the clouds
and I will look upon it
to remember the everlasting testament
between God and all that liveth upon earth
whatsoever flesh or faith it be
--they may have turned Tyndale into tinder
but the bow he wrought lives high
in this wet blue sky"
--from "The Wind Dog"
In the north of Ireland, a "wind dog" is a fragment of a rainbow, and in the title poem of this collection, it provides Tom Paulin with a perfect bridge into childhood and its "lingo-jingo of beginnings." The poem is a singing meditation on the life of the ear--"the only true reader"--and the meaning and music of both words and preverbal sounds are a recurring theme in this rich, cogent, and adventurous volume.
"o chitterin chatterin platinum licht
the bow shall be in the clouds
and I will look upon it
to remember the everlasting testament
between God and all that liveth upon earth
whatsoever flesh or faith it be
--they may have turned Tyndale into tinder
but the bow he wrought lives high
in this wet blue sky"
--from "The Wind Dog"
In the north of Ireland, a "wind dog" is a fragment of a rainbow, and in the title poem of this collection, it provides Tom Paulin with a perfect bridge into childhood and its "lingo-jingo of beginnings." The poem is a singing meditation on the life of the ear--"the only true reader"--and the meaning and music of both words and preverbal sounds are a recurring theme in this rich, cogent, and adventurous volume.