Carcanet Press - Cracks In the Universe

Description
Excerpt
Author
Awards
Reviews

here
overnight a crisis in the environment
had found its vent
and out of the hemmed-in cornucopia
that was nature once, had started
unstoppably to pour itself back
through this crack in the universe

from 'A View from the Shore'

Cracks in the Universe names those times and spaces in which our awareness is made more acute. Charles Tomlinson's latest collection ranges from memories of childhood incidents to vivid evocations of America, France and Spain; from meditations on works of art to precisely observed details of the world as 'the thing it is'. Tomlinson views the commonplace afresh: apples, a glass of water - the M62. Infused with a sense of the mysteries to be found within phenomena, this is a collection shaped by the passing of time that reconciles the human and the natural worlds: the lengthening shadows at sundown that transform the walker into a 'phantom giant', the shifting planes of light and dark that mark out the seasons in a house and in the landscapes around it.

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 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. 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'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 '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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Cracks In the Universe Charles Tomlinson Imprint: OxfordPoets Publisher: Carcanet Press Available as: Description Excerpt Author Awards Reviews here overnight a crisis in the environment had found its vent and out of the hemmed-in cornucopia that was nature once, had started unstoppably to pour itself back through this crack in the universe from 'A View from the Shore' Cracks in the Universe names those times and spaces in which our awareness is made more acute. Charles Tomlinson's latest collection ranges from memories of childhood incidents to vivid evocations of America, France and Spain; from meditations on works of art to precisely observed details of the world as 'the thing it is'. Tomlinson views the commonplace afresh: apples, a glass of water - the M62. Infused with a sense of the mysteries to be found within phenomena, this is a collection shaped by the passing of time that reconciles the human and the natural worlds: the lengthening shadows at sundown that transform the walker into a 'phantom giant', the shifting planes of light and dark that mark out the seasons in a house and in the landscapes around it. 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 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. 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'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 '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 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 Billy 'Nibs' Buckshot: John Gallas read more Emotional Support Horse: Claudine Toutoungi read more
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