Homesick for the Earth, Poems by Jules Supervielle with versions by Moniza Alvi.

What did you think of the collection as a whole? Did you like it?

What was your favourite/least favourite poem? Why?

What do you think that the author is trying to say in the title poem?

Would you rather that the poems were straight translations, or do you think that they gain something from being versions?

Alvi explains in the introduction her reasons behind changing the forms of some of the poems. Did the fact that she had changed the forms bother you? Does it affect the integrity of the poems? Does it enhance them?

Will this book make you seek out other versions of Supervielle’s work? Or Moniza Alvi’s?

Did you notice any particular themes running through the collection?

Is there a sense of movement in the collection? Can you observe any kind of logical order? 

A Light Song of Light by Kei Miller

1)      What were your overall impressions of the book? Did you like/dislike it? Why?

2)      The book plays upon the inter-relationship between darkness and light – do you think Miller was successful in this? Did the book come out strongly in favour of one side over the other?

3)      Some of the poems deal specifically with death and loss – how did these make you feel? Could you relate to them?

4)      Which poem was your favourite/least favourite? Why?

5)      Did you notice any musicality and rhythm to the collection? How did this affect your reading of the poems?

6)      Some of the poems are set in Jamaica – could you relate to these? Did they give you a greater understanding of Jamaican culture?

7)      Miller uses some unusual words, did you feel you needed to look things up? Did you want a glossary?

8)      How did you feel about the title poem?

9)      Did you notice the use of any particular forms or patterns?

10)  The book is divided into two sections – Day Time and Night Time, can you see why the author has done this? Which section did you prefer?

Grace – Esther Morgan

1)      What the main or recurring themes in this collection? Were there words or ideas that kept cropping up?

2)      In the title poem Grace what do you think it is that the narrator is waiting for?

3)      What do you think the poet means by Grace? Does the title poem and the collection as a whole fit with these ideas?

4)      There are several poems in the collection that are inspired by works of art – do these work well as stand-alone poems? Did you feel the need to look at the artwork? If so did this change or enhance your reading of the poem?

5)      What was your favourite/least favourite poem in the collection? Why?

6)      Morgan mainly writes in two and three line stanzas – did you feel that this spare form suited the themes that she is writing about?

7)      There is a feeling of unexplored potential or of things not quite resolved in these poems – how did this make you feel? Did you want more resolution? Or were you happy to be left with a sense of unknowing?

8)      This collection has been described as being slightly bleak and religious in tone – would you agree with this?

9)      What was your impression of the collection as a whole? How did it make you feel? What do you remember most about it?

10)  Have you read any of Morgan’s other work? Would you seek it out having read Grace?

Self Portrait in the Dark - Colette Bryce

Bryce’s poems have been described by some reviewers as being overly constrained or holding back – would you agree with this?

Did you feel that the collection had any overriding themes or connections?

What was your favourite/least favourite poem? Why?

Self Portrait in a Wing Mirror won the Cardiff International Poetry Prize in 2007 – why do you think this was selected as the winning poem?

Did you notice the use of any particular forms or stanza patterns?  How do you feel these complemented the writing?

Vertical Blinds is a concrete poem, did you feel that it was successful? Does the layout enhance the words?

Bryce has a fondness for rhyme patterns – how did you feel about this? Is it integral to the work? Does it enhance it? Was it annoying?

Did you get any sense of location/place from the poems?

W.H. Auden Poems Selected by John Fuller

W.H. Auden Poems Selected by John Fuller

1)      Did you notice any recurring themes or subjects within the collection?

2)      What did you think of the selection of poems that John Fuller made? 

3)      Are any of the themes and topics that Auden writes about relevant to what is going on in the world now?

4)      Who do you think the he is in “Argument Part III? Is it one person, more than one person, God?

5)      Did you think there was a cloaked meaning in the poem “The Detective”?

6)      Did you notice any particular forms or rhyme schemes?

7)      “Funeral Blues” was made popular by the film “Four Weddings and a Funeral” – do you think it merits the excitement? How do you think it stands up as an elegy to lost love?

8)      What was your favourite/least favourite poem? Why?

9)      What does the Sphinx stand for in the poem “Sphinx”?

10)  Themes of the book are loss, time passing, war, death – did you feel that Auden dealt with these themes effectively?

11)  Auden has been called “the first post-modern poet – would you agree with this statement? What is post-modern about his work?

That Awkward Age - Roger McGough

The series of poems about husbands of famous historical figures is in a similar vain to those of Carol Ann Duffy’s “The World’s Wife”. How did you feel these poems worked? Did you like/dislike them? Did it bother you that the idea had been done before? How do they compare to the poems by Duffy?

Many of the poems are humorous or ironic? Do you enjoy this style of writing or did you want some serious poems as well? Does it remind you of any other writers?

Have you read any of McGough’s earlier work? How does this compare?

What did you think of the series that began “to…” in which the poet addresses various things? Does this type of poem work? What is the author trying to achieve?

The poet makes many allusions to childhood and death in this collection? How do you feel he handled these subject matters? Is it a nostalgic collection?

McGough has been described as one of the nation’s lighter poets – do you feel that this is a fair description? Did you detect any darker undercurrents to his work?

McGough is often alluded to as a Liverpool Poet - did you get any sense of this from this collection?

What was your favourite/least favourite poem in the collection? Why?

How did you feel about the collection as a whole?

Maggot by Paul Muldoon

1)      What do you think were the main recurring themes in this collection? How does the poet handled these themes?

2)      This book has been described in reviews as “rich and grim” with poems “like fairground rides.” Do you think that these are accurate analogies? In what ways are the poems rich or grim?

3)      Muldoon lives in America – can you see the influence of American culture in this collection? Can you discern the influence of his Irish background in his writing?

4)      Did you notice the use of particular forms or sound patterns, rhyme schemes? How do these patterns affect your reading of the poems?

5)      Could you see any patterns and connections between the poems in the collection?

6)      This book has been described as “an experimental bestiary” (Laura Marsh) – how did animals feature in the collection?

7)      Maggot is punctuated by longer sequence poems. These poems are less concrete and more abstract than some of the other poems in the collection – were these poems accessible to the reader? Did you connect with these poems?

8)      Some of the poems in the collection have direct or indirect references to cancer – how do you feel Muldoon handles this subject? How does it compare to other poet’s handling of the subject (i.e. Jo Shapcott’s Of Mutability)?

9)      What was your favourite/least favourite poem in the collection? Why?

10)  In her review for Voyager Sarah Bennett refers to the frequency of casual sexual references throughout the collection – did you notice these references? Did they bother you?

11)  Did you feel like you had to do “research” to fully understand all the references? Did this add to or detract from your reading experience? Did you feel that the collection would have benefitted from a glossary?

12)  It has been said that “the philosophical meaning” of these poems “may be hard for the casual reader to discern.” (Lesley McDowell, The Independent) Would you agree/disagree with this statement?

13)  Muldoon has been described as “an allusive and riddling poet” and some of the poems in this collection have an almost Lear like quality to their language – do you think meaning is sacrificed for the quality of sound? Does this matter?