Embedded Files
Fawn
for Redell Olsen Fawn
between stares
& stars
racing towards nervousness
baroque masquers
kite-flying
mannequin brides
swerves of
artifice
reshape the possibilities
Biscuit
for Will RoweBiscuit
caught in the battlezone
forced to speak even
in the attempt to deny
hooded to prevent seeing
blockades & food shortages
the immobilised dream
dislodges its hold
jams the circuits
in determined negation
Stone White
for Ken EdwardsStone White
wakes from a dream
sensitive to the light
& the terror of annihilation
the hidden byways
of the plural world
Epstein’s Rima in Hyde Park
the cargoes of wrecked ships
or maybe a broken paving slab
suddenly catches fire
Powder Blue
for Frank O’HaraPowder Blue
tossed overboard
in some giddy ‘acting out’
full of reversals & sly
surprises that traces back to
smears across the canvas
unpredictable & brutal breakdowns
aligned to the margin
with a slight twist of
blue thread every few inches
Pale Powder
for Fiona TempletonPale Powder
boundaries shift across
the writing process
to the end of the block
all the gaps
project possible futures
that didn’t happen
transgressive marks & sutures
before the wall finally turns
& loses its past
Skylight
for Kristen KreiderSkylight
institutional colours
morph & change
with each connection
the visible action of
hand-drawn lines
like spies
a glare of light
on flaking paintwork
in some larger economy
[Robert Hampson is Professor of Modern Literature in the English Department at Royal Holloway, University of London. During the 70s he co-edited (with Ken Edwards and Peter Barry) the magazine Alembic which, among other things, was instrumental in introducing North American LANGUAGE poetry to England. More recently, he has edited another poetry magazine, purge. He also co-edited (with Peter Barry) New British Poetries: The Scope of the Possible.His collections of poetry include: Degrees of Addiction, A Necessary Displacement, A City at War, Seaport, and C for Security. His selected poems, Assembled Fugitives, was published by Stride in 2000.]
Copyright © 2009 by Robert Hampson, all rights reserved. This text may be used and shared in accordance with the fair-use provisions of Copyright law. Archiving, redistribution, or republication of this text on other terms, in any medium, requires the notification of the journal and consent of the author.
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