The Sinking Road by Paul Batchelor
In this strikingly varied first collection, Paul Batchelor travels from a laboratory in Hokkaido to the Black Sea steppe, from the mythical Ireland of Mad King Sweeney to the shattered landscape of post-war Germany. The poems he brings back are haunted by a series of memorable talismans: a synthetic snow crystal, an ebony cigarette holder, and the last spray of honesty in a Northumberland B&B. His Sinking Road is language itself, taking the reader across the border from present-day concerns to threatened or threatening histories, like that of Gilgamesh, the arrogant warlord, or Ovid, the poet in exile. These meticulously crafted, emotionally charged poems draw on a wide range of poetic traditions to confront, celebrate and question 'this life, this crucible of accidents'.
'Keenly felt; passionately, precisely and lyrically conveyed'- Simon Armitage. 'Thematic range, formal diversity, intellectual curiosity, passion, intimacy, and a musical ear that makes the reader sit up: Paul Batchelor comes with an enviable array of powers. His work is rich, rewarding and original.' - Sean O'Brien 'The fact is that Batchelor has an imagination and possesses resources of form, information and vocabulary, and he's not afraid to use any of them.' - Michael Hulse, Poetry Review 'A poet with heart - Batchelor knows how to write social injustice - a sense of anger and pity is never far from his confident, clear spoken poems.' - Kate Bingham, Poetry London
Paul Batchelor was born in Northumberland in 1977. In 2003 he received an Eric Gregory Award from the Society of Authors, and in 2004 he was given the Andrew Waterhouse Award by New Writing North. In 2005 he was a winner of the Poetry Business Prize; his pamphlet To Photograph a Snow Crystal was published by Smith/Doorstop in 2006. His first full-length collection, The Sinking Road (Bloodaxe, 2008), was shortlisted for The Jerwood Aldeburgh First Collection Prize 2008 and the Glen Dimplex Prize for Best First Collection. His poem 'Comeuppance' won the Edwin Morgan International Poetry Competition in 2009. He did his PhD at Newcastle University on the work of Barry MacSweeney, and his critical anthology, Reading Barry MacSweeney, was published by Bloodaxe in 2013. He published an interim collection, The Love Darg, with Clutag Press in 2014, and a second full-length collection is rumoured to be forthcoming from Bloodaxe. He is director of the Creative Writing programme at Durham University.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781852248079 |
| ISBN 10 | 1852248076 |
| Title | The Sinking Road |
| Author | Paul Batchelor |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Bloodaxe Books Ltd |
| Year published | 2008-06-27 |
| Number of pages | 64 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |