South Reviews
John Webber
Had Van Gogh Had a Day Job – John Webber; Indigo Dreams Press, £5.99
My first response to this collection was that the poems were well crafted and written in a clear and simple language which communicates with the reader. There is often a meeting of observation and what I term as restrained emotion, within the writing. Despite the fact that some of the poems were a little prose-like, in the main, I found this a very enjoyable selection to read.
The poems which spoke to me most were:
End of the Pier. This poem describes how a man takes a ‘winter walk/ on a frozen pier’, striding over the missing planks to the object of his mission – the telescope where he delivers his ‘coin in the salted slot’, swinging it back to focus on the town. The unexpected twist at the end of the poem, the glimpse of the ‘dark alleys, burnt out van’ and the deserted streets and finally when it returns to ‘point zero’ when the money runs out, generates a feeling of sadness and despair.
Young Woman Knitting On a Train. A moment on a train in which a traveller is mesmerised by the ‘glint and click’ of needles, fascinated by the idea that the garment being knitted on a journey, will take other journeys in years to come.
Ancestry. I found this a very moving and believable poem; every detail of the search beautifully noted. I can identify with the poet completely when he writes
I found the street they lived in
written in the census scrawl,
All the expectancy and thrill of uncovering knowledge about past relatives and the fact that even his imagination will not allow ‘the ghosts’ to appear for ‘curious and distant sons’, left me with a feeling of immense sadness.
I shall find much pleasure in re-visiting this anthology and exploring the craft of John Webber’s words.
Page(s) 57
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