Literary reviews by Tim Love.
Warning: Rather than reviews, these are often notes in preparation for reviews that were never finished, or pleas for help with understanding pieces. See Litref Reviews - a rationale for details.

Sunday, 7 October 2012

"Weyfarers 112", Stella Stocker (ed), (Guildford Poets Press, 2012)

Weyfarers began in 1972. It has a rotating editorship and appears 3 times a year. This issue has 36 pages of poetry (50 poems - 2 villanelles and 4 other poems that rhyme) and over 6 pages of reviews (about a Rilke translation by Ian Crockatt, A.C. Clarke, etc). There's a short article too.

There are no famous poets and no bios, but there are names that will be familiar to magazine readers, and I suspect several of the poets have published books or pamphlets. I'd guess that the preoccupations are common amongst older poets especially. There's the odd foray into stranger material, but for the most part the poetry's like that read at good poetry clubs around the country. The best 10% compare favourably with book-published works. I most liked

  • "Trees" by Terry Maher
    There is something in the stillness of trees,
    fairytale characters sleeping,
    models posed towards the light.
    Maybe they move at a different speed,
    slower than my eyes can see
    ...
  • "Found" by Fiona Sinclair, about recycling knitting equipment at carboot sales.
  • "The Dolls' House" by Jeremy Young
    Dolls' houses are dangerous
    for little boys.
    I was not allowed one of my own.

    Toy guns are safe
    ...

    Later, I shrank to the size
    of a doll moving furniture
    in and out of many houses,

    never with the help
    of giant hands from the sky,
    always alone,

    until this year and this house
    ...

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