Lorca

Federico Garcia Lorca stands at the top of Spanish literature. And for very good reason. He mastered two distinct and at times diametrically opposed styles of poetry. The first is the dreamy, almost sea inspired (it seems) style that he perfected in poems such as 'Nocturnal Air' written in 1919. In these poems his constant reference to the moon, hearts, shadows, fountains and the like, gives each poetic expression a sense of the oneiric. It is my belief that all great poets imbue this sensibility into their work at some time.

The other style is more intellectual, jarring, and uncomfortable. The poems which spring from this muse can be found in his Poet in New York. It is my guess that such poems were inspired and influenced by his relationship to Dali and the Surrealism that shaped Dali's own oeuvre. Associations in these poems are odd and out of place. The moon and shadows still find their way into these creations, but more common are the 'tapeworms', 'wounded cow's horns', and 'horse's eyes' that jolt you rather than send you into a comfortable calm. Lorca is perhaps more technically accomplished in these later poems, but it will be the 'dream-style' poetry (as we'll call it) that will cement his place in the cannon of world literature.

New Beginnings

Apologies for the length of time it has taken me to post a new blog. I have been finishing my PhD, which is now handed in. I now have time to devote to other writings, such as this one.

I am also pleased to announce that my book, 'Diary of a Schizophrenic' (published through Chipmunkapublishing) is now available as a Kindle book on Amazon in the US. This gives me great satisfaction, as it was written during a very difficult time. I am pleased that this difficulty has eventually led to such a positive outcome. Thank you to Chipmunka for their support of the project.

I have also had some poems published in the time since my last blog. The journals Page Seventeen, Pendulum, Unusual Work and Mascara Literary Review have picked up and published poems of mine. The Mascara poems are published online, which you can view here. I also have a poem coming out in the new edition of Sketch (out shortly).

Anyway, you'll here from me again soon.