You

[Claire]

The third of the shortlisted books for the T S Eliot prize is "You" by John Haynes.
My initial obeservation is that he must write longer poems than the other two, because it took 5 pages rather than 3 to print the pdf out.....Profound poetic analysis, huh!?

You can find the pdf right here (http://www.poetrybooks.org.uk/uploads/documents/index.cfm?fuseaction=retrieve&doc_id=1391)

[Claire]

My initial obeservation is that he must write longer poems than the other two, because it took 5 pages rather than 3 to print the pdf out.....Profound poetic analysis, huh!?


Hah!! Even my shallowest, most basic analysis turns out to be completely wrong! It's not "longer poems" but extracts from a book length "extremely long poem" :rolleyes:

Ignore me and post your own thoughts!

[chuntzy]

The Poetry Society's questions at the end put me off: to 'tell or be told of love/show or be shown love' -what's more important in a relationship? All of it, I want to scream, can we just discuss the poem itself, these extracts anyway.

To be honest can't get as interested as in the other earlier two poets' works. Sorry. First two verses were fine: the obvious contrasts pointed out -the usual English type restrained religious observance and the Nigerian expressive 'soul' expressive religiosity. But then I had to force myself to read on. Can someone else take up the cause?

[Claire]

I warmed to him a little more than you did, I suspect. I agree that the contrasts in the first extract were fairly obvious - I thought the description of the awkward warmth in the church hall was well observed and economically described, though, it made me smile in recognition.

I was rather moved by the second half of the second extract:

Dad, what’s it like to die? And when you’re dead
will you still hear me play the violin?
Will you be you? Or just the word instead
of you? No, I’ll be you. I’ll snuggle in
your memory like hide and seek again.
The similes he knows are not quite lies
are not quite tears, quite standing in his eyes.

But I don't have much of any more depth to add, I'm afraid!