
From Kirkus Reviews A kaleidoscopic collection of poems by the nonagenarian Englishwoman who has had more retirements and returns than Frank Sinatra. Raised in India under the Raj and first published by Leonard Woolf in 1929, Graves is not exactly a new face on the block, but her career has waxed and waned, sometimes eclipsed for very long periods when she continued to write yet chose not to publish. The poems collected here are recent; their scope, however, is broad, taking in recollections from Gravess childhood in India, early impressions of England (seen for the first time from the perspective of a girls boarding school), domestic scenes of life with her family, and impressions of nature both in Suffolk and on the subcontinent. Graves is at her best when reconstructing the vision of childhood, and her verse has a general sense of wonder mingled with fear that makes its most commonplace observations refreshing and touched with the light of innocence. Although not explicitly religious, theres a clear religious framework inhabiting the authors consciousness and informing her rhetorical constructions (Adam lay bound in her bond, his bladder at ease, spent, / Under his hair the five vowels and a divine lip grunt) that lends a depth to the breadth already established by her cosmopolitan view. And in spite of a solitary tone struck throughout that is inseparable from old age, the artless and straightforward narration marks the author as a woman with a mind-set considerably younger than the sum of her years. Delightful, eloquent, and unaffected: a testimony on behalf of the revivifying power of recollection in tranquillity. -- Copyright ©2000, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
This collection of verse captures the intersection of memory and observation as the poet reflects on a life spanning from the British Raj to modern Suffolk. Graves navigates the complexities of time and place, utilizing her personal history as a lens to examine domestic life, the natural world, and the lingering impressions of her youth. The poems function as a bridge between the colonial landscapes of her childhood and the quietude of her later years in England. Through a framework of recollection, she explores the tension between the innocence of early perception and the solitary perspective afforded by advanced age.
Readers and critics frequently highlight the clarity and unpretentious nature of the poet's voice within this collection. Discussion often centers on the author's ability to maintain a sense of youthful curiosity despite the solitary tone inherent in her advanced age. Many observers note that the poems effectively balance specific, localized memories with broader, more universal reflections on the human condition. The work is often praised for its ability to transform commonplace observations into moments of profound insight through precise, evocative language. Readers who appreciate poetry that values sincerity and the power of memory over complex artifice will find this collection particularly engaging.
Page Count:
72
Publication Date:
1999-05-01
Publisher:
Carcanet Press Ltd.
ISBN-10:
0192881108
ISBN-13:
9780192881106
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