Description:
A lifetime of poetry from one of England's finest voices, exploring landscape, music, and the human condition.
In Was and Is, Neil Powell presents a carefully curated selection of poems from across his fifty-year career. This collection offers a unique perspective on a life lived through poetry, arranged chronologically to reveal recurring themes in changing lights. From the beauty of the English landscape and seascape to the power of music and the complexities of friendship, Powell's poems resonate with both playfulness and profound reflection.
This volume invites readers to explore:
- The ever-present themes of landscape and seascape
- The profound influence of music and poetry
- The enduring bonds of friendship and the inevitable sting of loss
- Reflections on mortality and the passage of time
Was and Is is a testament to the power of poetry to illuminate the human experience, offering solace, insight, and a renewed appreciation for the world around us. Perfect for readers seeking meaningful and beautifully crafted verse.
Review Quotes: ''Neil Powell's Was and Is: Collected Poems gathers together a lifetime of walking, seeing, reading and rhyming the landscapes of eastern England, and in particular the coast of Suffolk. The author's world of friends and books has a wide historical horizon, haunted by literary ghosts from George Crabbe to W.G. Sebald. This is a rich book full of the light of the changing seasons, the rhythms of weather and sea, and the little details of human life that add colour to every corner of these skilful, evocative, and painterly poems.'' Dr Jeremy Noel-Tod (UEA), Poetry judge of the 2017 East Anglian Book Awards