Carcanet Press - Skywriting

Description
Author
Awards
Reviews

The poems in Charles Tomlinson's new collection celebrate the colours and textures of places, and the people and histories that have created them. Skywriting forms a journey through the landscapes of Tomlinson's imagination: Mexico, Italy and Japan, always returning to the English Cotswolds, a landscape in which his life and work are deeply rooted. These poems make vividly present the beauty of places both strange and familiar, shadowed by an awareness of threat and loss. Some are dedicated to friends, including a poem in memory of Ted Hughes; others are written with an ominous sense of the fragility of ancient places threatened by modern wars. At the age of seventy-six, Charles Tomlinson explores new meanings in new poetic forms, on a continuing poetic journey.

Charles Tomlinson, born in 1927, studied at Queens’ College, Cambridge. He has published many books of poetry, and has translated selections from Russian, Spanish and Italian. He is also an artist. He taught at Bristol University, where he was appointed Emeritus Professor of English Poetry. He edited The Oxford Book ... read more

Awards won by Charles Tomlinson Winner, 2003 New Criterion Poetry Prize (Skywriting)

'Tomlinson's work and his new volume achieve balance, synthesis and wonderful expression. Add to this that he is also very funny, and I trust you have abandoned any reason not to buy the book. Let's be proud of him.'
David Morley, the Guardian Praise for Charles Tomlinson 'Charles Tomlinson has been probably the foremost poet of truly international distinction writing in England between the 1950s and the opening years of the Twenty-first Century.'

Ian Brinton, Tears in the Fence

'It is entirely appropriate that David Morley should have chosen the title Swimming Chenango Lake for this book and the poem of that name, written in September 1967, stands as 'Prologue' to a volume which will at last place Charles Tomlinson's name at the forefront of the poetry of the twentieth century.'
Ian Brinton, The London Magazine

'Tomlinson was a wide-ranging poet. His technical scope includes free form and more traditional structures, and he is a master of both. They cohabit enrichingly in Swimming Chenango Lake... a finely chosen collection for existing enthusiasts and an excellent introduction for newcomers.'
Carol Rumens, The Guardian
'His poetry stuns us by its formal rigour, its punctiliousness, its syntactical mastery, its long, building effects. Unmissable.'
Michael Glover, The Tablet
'Tomlinson is one of the most astute, disciplined, and lucent poets of his generation. His quiet, meditative voice will reverberate on both sides of the Atlantic for a long time to come.'
Edward Hirsch 'Tomlinson has an international reputation as a poet and translator. He is also a painter and brings his artist's eye to his poetry, drawing out exact lines, creating luminous imagery that is still touched by a sense of mystery. Please read him...his collection Seeing is Believing is one of my all-time favourites.'
Sion Hamilton, The Bookseller pick of 2006. 'He has divided his line according to a new measure learned, perhaps, for a new world. It gives a refreshing rustle or seething to the words which bespeak the entrance of a new life'.
William Carlos Williams 'Against the word as spectacle, Tomlinson opposes the concept -- a very English one -- of the world as event...He is fascinated -- with his eyes open: a lucid fascination -- by the universal busyness, the continuous generation and degeneration of things'.
Octavio Paz 'Tomlinson insists, and he has a right to insist, that he is as authentic a voice of modern Britain as Larkin is. Only in the great poets is content so intimately married to form'.
Donald Davie

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Skywriting Charles Tomlinson Imprint: OxfordPoets Publisher: Carcanet Press Available as: Paperback (80 pages) (Pub. Nov 2003) 9781903039649 Out of Stock Description Author Awards Reviews The poems in Charles Tomlinson's new collection celebrate the colours and textures of places, and the people and histories that have created them. Skywriting forms a journey through the landscapes of Tomlinson's imagination: Mexico, Italy and Japan, always returning to the English Cotswolds, a landscape in which his life and work are deeply rooted. These poems make vividly present the beauty of places both strange and familiar, shadowed by an awareness of threat and loss. Some are dedicated to friends, including a poem in memory of Ted Hughes; others are written with an ominous sense of the fragility of ancient places threatened by modern wars. At the age of seventy-six, Charles Tomlinson explores new meanings in new poetic forms, on a continuing poetic journey. Charles Tomlinson, born in 1927, studied at Queens’ College, Cambridge. He has published many books of poetry, and has translated selections from Russian, Spanish and Italian. He is also an artist. He taught at Bristol University, where he was appointed Emeritus Professor of English Poetry. He edited The Oxford Book ... read more Awards won by Charles Tomlinson Winner, 2003 New Criterion Poetry Prize (Skywriting) 'Tomlinson's work and his new volume achieve balance, synthesis and wonderful expression. Add to this that he is also very funny, and I trust you have abandoned any reason not to buy the book. Let's be proud of him.' David Morley, the Guardian Praise for Charles Tomlinson 'Charles Tomlinson has been probably the foremost poet of truly international distinction writing in England between the 1950s and the opening years of the Twenty-first Century.' Ian Brinton, Tears in the Fence 'It is entirely appropriate that David Morley should have chosen the title Swimming Chenango Lake for this book and the poem of that name, written in September 1967, stands as 'Prologue' to a volume which will at last place Charles Tomlinson's name at the forefront of the poetry of the twentieth century.' Ian Brinton, The London Magazine 'Tomlinson was a wide-ranging poet. His technical scope includes free form and more traditional structures, and he is a master of both. They cohabit enrichingly in Swimming Chenango Lake... a finely chosen collection for existing enthusiasts and an excellent introduction for newcomers.' Carol Rumens, The Guardian 'His poetry stuns us by its formal rigour, its punctiliousness, its syntactical mastery, its long, building effects. Unmissable.' Michael Glover, The Tablet 'Tomlinson is one of the most astute, disciplined, and lucent poets of his generation. His quiet, meditative voice will reverberate on both sides of the Atlantic for a long time to come.' Edward Hirsch 'Tomlinson has an international reputation as a poet and translator. He is also a painter and brings his artist's eye to his poetry, drawing out exact lines, creating luminous imagery that is still touched by a sense of mystery. Please read him...his collection Seeing is Believing is one of my all-time favourites.' Sion Hamilton, The Bookseller pick of 2006. 'He has divided his line according to a new measure learned, perhaps, for a new world. It gives a refreshing rustle or seething to the words which bespeak the entrance of a new life'. William Carlos Williams 'Against the word as spectacle, Tomlinson opposes the concept -- a very English one -- of the world as event...He is fascinated -- with his eyes open: a lucid fascination -- by the universal busyness, the continuous generation and degeneration of things'. Octavio Paz 'Tomlinson insists, and he has a right to insist, that he is as authentic a voice of modern Britain as Larkin is. Only in the great poets is content so intimately married to form'. Donald Davie	Share this... Quick Links Carcanet Poetry Carcanet Classics Carcanet Fiction Carcanet Film Lives and Letters PN Review Video Carcanet Celebrates 50 Years! The Carcanet Blog We've Moved! read more Books of the Year read more One Little Room: Peter McDonald read more Collected Poems: Mimi Khalvati read more Invisible Dog: Fabio Morbito, translated by Richard Gwyn read more Dante's Purgatorio: Philip Terry read more
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