Size isn't everything!
I've had a reminder this week that size isn't everything - at least, not when it comes to poetry!
When I first started buying individual poets' collections, as opposed to anthologies, I was shocked by the slimness of the volumes. Of course, I soon realised I was still getting value for money in terms of quality and contents. In fact, given the intensity of poetry, I now even welcome this compactness. (Like any other relationship only so much intensity is comfortable in one go!)
What reminded me of this recently was the relish with which I was attacking my new collections by Kathryn Simmonds, Allison McVety and Michael Symmons Roberts, while my Collected Poems by Louis MacNeice still sits reproachfully on the shelf. Now, this is not about the poet or the quality of the poems. I have loved all the MacNeice's poems I've enjoyed in anthologies, and the book definitely represents value for money. It is just the weight and size of the tome that is off-putting. As a poet I am in awe of the achievement represented by the collected works, but, as a reader, I just don't know where to start!
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2008-10-02 @ 10:49 Permalink
2008-10-03 @ 13:58 · http://www.milltech-systems.co.uk I think most poetry is harder to skim through than a lot (but by no means all) prose. That is, of course, just as well otherwise one would miss out on so much. But it does make for more intensity, and the need for more reading attention/energy maybe.
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