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Nayler & Folly Wood

New & Selected Poems
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Nayler & Folly Wood offers a comprehensive selection of poetry by Peter Bennet, exploring the blurred boundaries between past and present, reality and imagination. His work evokes modern spaces haunted by history and the unreal, where time and space intermingle in surprising ways. The collection spans Bennet's career from the early 1980s to recent work, including major sequences such as The Long Pack, Jigger Nods, and a new sequence centred on the Quaker James Nayler.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$3999
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers interested in contemporary poetry that thoughtfully intertwines history, folklore, and place with imaginative narrative techniques. Perfect for those who appreciate literary allusions and richly textured verse.

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Substantial retrospective drawing on the life’s work of a distinguished poet celebrating his 80th year, with a new sequence bridging three centuries to evoke the voice of the Quaker James Nayler, who was abominably punished for β€˜horrid blasphemy’. Poetry Book Society Special Commendation.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A comprehensive selection of poetry from a poet whose work is nothing as it seems to be. Modern spaces are haunted by the past and the unreal. We cannot tell the encroacher from the encroached. Discontinuities in time and space, along with playful short-circuiting, produce exhilarating shivers.

Peter Bennet is an astute observer of people, places, and things; however, we find ourselves surprisingly at home on this border between plausible narrative and the wilder territories of the imagination.

This selection reflects Bennet's full range for the first time, beginning with poems from the early 1980s and drawing on seven collections published since then, including his major sequences: The Long Pack, Jigger Nods, Folly Wood, Bobby Bendick's Ride, Landscape with Psyche, and Ladderedge and Cotislea. New work introduced here centres on another major and powerfully imagined sequenceβ€”a colloquy which bridges three centuries to evoke the voice of the Quaker James Nayler, who was abominably punished for 'horrid blasphemy'.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Critics praise Bennet's poetry for its elegant language, atmospheric landscapes, and thoughtful engagement with history and folklore. Sarah Crown of The Guardian calls it "fireside poetry" perfect for winter, while Soumyaroop Majumdar highlights Bennet's skill in crafting poetic places inspired by literary greats. Sean O'Brien in the Sunday Times notes Bennet's talent for introducing history's powers into poems without losing their distinctive qualities or darker tones.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781780376554

Publisher: Bloodaxe Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 23 February 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Bloodaxe Books Ltd

Edition: Paperback original

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 20.0mm

Width: 138.0mm

Height: 216.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 256

About the Author

Peter Bennet taught in secondary and further education, including work with redundant steelworkers following the closure of Consett Steel Works, and spent 16 years as Tutor Organiser for Northumberland with the Workers' Educational Association. He lived for 33 years near the Wild Hills o'Wanney in Northumberland, in a cottage associated with the ballad writer James Armstrong, author of Wannie Blossoms. He now lives in North Shields. His BloodaxeThe Glass Swarm (2008) was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize.

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