Selected essays on poetry

Derek Mahon is a note on Derek Mahon.  I have found an affinity with him.  This essay is fairly short and a bit lightweight, but reflects a first reaction.

The essay on John Burnside is a partial review of a collection of critical essays by Ben Davies on the Scottish poet and novelist, John Burnside.  It explores key themes in Burnside's work.  Davies' collection is in the Bloomsbury, Contemporary Critical Perspectives series, published in 2020.

The Last Word on Poetry and Science is a light piece on a topic that has long interested me, the relationship between the writing of poetry and scientific theory and practice.  It belongs in that tradition that C.P.Snow revived in The Two Cultures when he argued that scientists and poets never talk to each other.

My thanks to Acumen for publishing my essay on Walter de la Mare, which I make available here.

R.S.Thomas & Kierkegaard looks at links between the Welsh poet-priest and the philosopher, Kierkegaard, who Thomas read and admired.

Gillian Allnut and the poetry of the spirit looks at the religious element in the work of Gillian Allnut.  I have this idea that I will one day write a book about 20th century religious poets and it would include material from essays like this.

Keats' Brain is a bit of a squib on Keats' brain.  I like this essay and entered it into a Keats essay competition.  It didn't win.