A Method, A Path
Shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Poetry 2023
1st Edition
Published on 8. June 2023
80 pages
978-1-5266-5125-9 (ISBN)
Description
**SHORTLISTED FOR THE FELIX DENNIS PRIZE FOR BEST FIRST COLLECTION 2023**
An award-winning poet explodes the notion of translation, showing us the poem in a supple, malleable form
'Formally inventive, rich in aslant borrowings, unafraid of visual and textual experiment, it is an exhilarating debut' Guardian
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The poems at the centre of A Method, A Path explore the turbulent transmission of historical and mythic voices that 'reach across' time and place, and a fierce rejection of the nationalist ideologies that have sought to 'island' them. Here, translation is a lived and open-ended negotiation, invested in the potential for magic utterance and ritual action in spite of language's violence: 'words / tear their wing bones / and grow new heads / in the wound ('On Eglond'). Each poem or sequence gathers around a different instance of dialogue or communication with others: with other voices and languages, with other authors and found texts, with other species. They also mark a record of Evans' interdisciplinary collaboration with other artists and performers through his work both as writer and sound artist.
The physical and textual landscapes of the book move from the flooded and wooded terrains of Somerset and East Anglia, to the burnt hills of Andalusía in the company of Federíco García Lorca, the poems always inhabiting a place between Evans' own words and external voices - whether via translation, haunting, or invocation. In this 'tirelessly inventive, substantial collection of vivid lyrical work' (Denise Riley, Eric Gregory Awards), the truant strangeness of the more-than-human world is made present in its ability to warp and transform the poet's voice, where 'even the ground under your feet is a fluid, malleable surface' (Kayo Chingonyi).
An award-winning poet explodes the notion of translation, showing us the poem in a supple, malleable form
'Formally inventive, rich in aslant borrowings, unafraid of visual and textual experiment, it is an exhilarating debut' Guardian
________________________________
The poems at the centre of A Method, A Path explore the turbulent transmission of historical and mythic voices that 'reach across' time and place, and a fierce rejection of the nationalist ideologies that have sought to 'island' them. Here, translation is a lived and open-ended negotiation, invested in the potential for magic utterance and ritual action in spite of language's violence: 'words / tear their wing bones / and grow new heads / in the wound ('On Eglond'). Each poem or sequence gathers around a different instance of dialogue or communication with others: with other voices and languages, with other authors and found texts, with other species. They also mark a record of Evans' interdisciplinary collaboration with other artists and performers through his work both as writer and sound artist.
The physical and textual landscapes of the book move from the flooded and wooded terrains of Somerset and East Anglia, to the burnt hills of Andalusía in the company of Federíco García Lorca, the poems always inhabiting a place between Evans' own words and external voices - whether via translation, haunting, or invocation. In this 'tirelessly inventive, substantial collection of vivid lyrical work' (Denise Riley, Eric Gregory Awards), the truant strangeness of the more-than-human world is made present in its ability to warp and transform the poet's voice, where 'even the ground under your feet is a fluid, malleable surface' (Kayo Chingonyi).
More details
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
ISBN-13
978-1-5266-5125-9 (9781526651259)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
06/2023
Bloomsbury Poetry
€13.00
Shipment within 10-20 days
Person
Rowan Evans is a poet, composer and sound artist. He received an Eric Gregory Award in 2015 and his chapbook The Last Verses of Beccán (Guillemot Press, 2019) won the Michael Marks Award for Poetry. In 2022 he completed a practice-based PhD in modern poetry and early medieval languages at Royal Holloway University of London. This is his first collection.
