Getting It Right (Paperback)

Alan Roddick

ISBN 10: 1927322650 / ISBN 13: 9781927322659

Published by Otago University Press, Dunedin, 2016

About this Item

Paperback. After establishing a poetic presence on the literary scene in the early 1960s, Dunedins Alan Roddick published his first collection, The Eye Corrects: Poems 19551965 in 1967. A mere 49 years later comes the sequel, Getting it Right. Poet C K Stead writes in Shelf Life (AUP, 2016) that he has always been a great admirer of the economy and the quiet, sharp wit of [Roddicks] writing. Alan Roddick is a cool poet, a temperament that seems reserved, controlled, decent, funny and intelligent; a craftsman not a showman, with a fine musical ear, whose work is dependable and of the highest order. And as well as witty and clever work, there are poems that catch moments of deep feeling; and equally of exhilaration, such as the ten-year-old Alan standing up on the seat, his head through the sunroof of his fathers car that is cruising downhill, pushing 40 with the engine off to save petrol, drunk with the scent of heather and whin / that airy silence. Alan Roddick is writing as well as any New Zealand poet currently at work on the scene. It is wonderful to have him back something to celebrate! Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781927322659

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Getting It Right (Paperback)
• Publisher: Otago University Press, Dunedin
• Publication Date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1927322650
• ISBN 13: 9781927322659
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

After establishing a poetic presence on the literary scene in the early 1960s, Dunedin’s Alan Roddick published his first collection, The Eye Corrects: Poems 1955–1965, in 1967. A mere 49 years later comes the sequel, Getting it Right. Poet C.K. Stead writes in Shelf Life (AUP, 2016) that he has always been "a great admirer of the economy and the quiet, sharp wit of [Roddick’s] writing … Alan Roddick is a 'cool' poet, a temperament that seems reserved, controlled, decent, funny and intelligent; a craftsman not a showman, with a fine musical ear, whose work is dependable and of the highest order. And as well as witty and clever work, there are poems that catch moments of deep feeling; and equally of exhilaration, such as the ten-year-old Alan standing up on the seat, his head through the sunroof of his father’s car that is cruising downhill, 'pushing 40' with the engine off to save petrol, 'drunk with the scent of heather and whin / that airy silence …' Alan Roddick is writing as well as any New Zealand poet currently at work on the scene. It is wonderful to have him back – something to celebrate!"

About the Author

Alan Roddick published his last book of poetry, The Eye Corrects: Poems 1955– 1965 (Blackwood & Janet Paul), in 1967. He has also written a monograph on Allen Curnow, and, as the literary executor for Charles Brasch, compiled and edited three volumes of Brasch’s verse, the latest being Charles Brasch: Selected Poems (OUP, 2015).