Peter Reading

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Peter Reading: Collected Poems 1985-1996

Peter Reading

Synopsis:
England's unofficial laureate mixes the matter and speech of the gutter in his angry, why-are-we-here- poems, but he uses meter for the job Peter Reading's poems from twenty-five years and eighteen books have been published in two volumes, the first, Poems 1970-1974, in 1995 - "A poetry of foul moods. But it is also a poetry that insists on angry intelligence over world-weary head-shaking". -- Publishers Weekly. For a poet to be collected like this, at the age of fifty in mid-career, is unusual, but not for Reading -- prolific, distinctive and controversial. His is an epic lament for a species given to cruelty and self-destruction. Generally, rhyme provides the backbone for public poetry. What sets Reading apart is his use of mostly classical dactylic meter, with Latin hexameters, couplets, and older Greek forms.

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Other editions: Softcover - 2006, Hardcover - 2004, Softcover - 2004, Softcover - 2003, Softcover - 2001, Softcover - 2000, Softcover - 1999, Hardcover - 1999, Softcover - 1997, Hardcover - 1997