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To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. A humorous folkloric treat, “ A Few Take Home Points from Grimm’s Fairy Tales” gives life advice to avoid the fates of familiar characters. While I didn't enjoy every poem he shares in this collection, I did appreciate Bilston's consistent sense of humour and eye for wordplay. Remember, Remember (4th November) – Bilston at his silliest whilst also craftily pointing out the recurring patterns of nursery rhymes.
His favourite themes are the awfulness of Tory politicians, the unexpected perspective, and moral responsibility. My crystal ball is faulty, but my guess is from here on Bilston’s collections will grow thinner, more personal, and more powerful. Bilston's poems are often fun, but I think he's at his best when he adds some snark or political satire (rare in this collection) or comes up with odd rhymes and wordplay. Any booking you make will not be placed with VisitScotland and we will have no liability to you in respect of any booking. uk/books/brian-bilston/alexa-what-is-there-to-know-about-love/9781529059571/]; and _Days Like These_ [https://www.He directs us to look at not just war memorials and hedges (“This place is full of them”), but cities and “the locked stone wreath / of motorways” too. Photograph: Alvan Meyerowitz/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Bob Dylan goes electric in Brian Bilston’s Days Like These. Flicking through, I saw the poem for 18 April was written the day after the storming of the Capitol in DC on 6 January 2021.
It starts, “ I pledge my undying love to you, / Insofar as it's possible to guarantee anything these days. uk/books/brian-bilston/you-took-the-last-bus-home/9781783524921/]; _Alexa, what is there to know about love?His poems about wildlife and extinction consistently moved me and his literary satire appealed to my bookish nature. This volume, weighing in at 516 pages, represents only Brian Bilston’s third collection of poems for adults, closely following his second, published only last year. Each poem is inspired by a significant – often curious – event associated with that day: from Open an Umbrella Indoors Day to the day on which New York banned public flirting; from the launch of the Rubik’s Cube to the first appearance of the phrase, ‘the best thing since sliced bread’.
A friend and influence on WG Sebald, Watts has forged connections between cultures and countries, finding the common humanity – sometimes even rapture – between us. If (Conservative Party Version)’ is THE great pandemic poem, wittily inverting Kipling as it eviscerates government incompetence. His primary concern is how the language we need to truly express ourselves is always out of reach, yet we must keep trying to speak: “Not that there is a gate to be climbed / through in my lyric – / but what is a poem if not an opening / onto an open field”. On Profanity” makes you expect one, but delivers an innocuous word instead: “ You fill our children's minds with muck / yet still you do not give a fig. To My Crinkly Slobberfrock” is meant to be worse than Vogon love poetry, but the opening reminded me more of Jabberwocky: “ What swang humburgle drips from thee, / More frujious than the vimhorn tree.Recipe for Midwinter Happiness”, culminating in “ One good book* / * or one good lover if book not available. I went to see Brian Bilston in Chorley Little Theatre and bought the book which he kindly signed for me on my birthday page. This risks obsolescence in the pursuit of freshness and is probably held against him in some quarters. However, peering into Bilston's writing life like this also reminded me of how adaptable his style is and where his true passions lie. Each poem is inspired by a significant - often curious - event associated with that day: from Open an Umbrella Indoors Day to the day on which New York banned public flirting; from the launch of the Rubik's Cube to the first appearance of the phrase, 'the best thing since sliced bread'.
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