The Fiction Shelf

A meandering, pensive poem whose structure matches perfectly with the direction of the voice’s thoughts. In few words, it deals with youth and old age and challenges us to think on what is between.

A short lyric poem that reads like a warning, grown of bitter experiences. The meter and rhyme combine to enhance the sharpness of the tight wording and punctuate the meaning.

A poem that revels in its disorder. A memory written as furiously as the time lived. Brief and sharp, this work is beautiful in its honesty.

Frustration is drawn throughout this poem. There’s no attempt at an answer, nor does the work preach, but disappointment with the world is conveyed by stark and direct words.

In this piece the poet examines the nature of time and the totality of human life comparing it to the greater universe through the achievements of an unnamed poet.

A narrative, almost didactic poem whose wandering descriptions match excellently the exotic backdrop and brooding plot.

A brave narrative poem that deals honestly with issues of fundamentalism, placing them – vitally – in a human context. The poetic voice, like the protagonist – and like his brother who we never hear – is nervous but determined. An important, modern piece of writing.

A poem of pleasant frustration. There is a nostalgia in the brutal honesty of the memories of working class life. The sepia‐toned recollections suggest confusion about a place in a society where death and illness are the only constant.