Armitage, Simon

The Shout: Selected Poems

ISBN: 0151011184
Orlando, FL: Harcourt, 2005. First Printing. Hardcover. “I've never understood the poor repute poetry has among general readers, who would rather spend time with a conventional novel, a biography of a great writer, or a memoir by some public figure. They take it for granted that contemporary poetry is not only hopelessly obscure, but completely irrelevant to their lives, in addition to being just plain boring. This is simply not true. Poetry of high literary quality that is perfectly readable is still being written and is far more rewarding to read than most books being published. I realize that an assertion of this kind will be met with doubt, if not outright derision, and that it needs some grounds for belief. Fortunately, I have Simon Armitage's The Shout in my hand, and so do you if you are reading this. Open it anywhere and look,” writes the late, great Serbian-American poet, Charles Simic (1938-2023) in his introduction to The Shout, a remarkable book of poetry by the noted English poet, Simon Armitage (b. 1963). While this writer, Your Devoted VP-of-Operations here at Third Mind Books, does understand why the common reader has entertained a safe, untrusting distance from poetry and poets, in large part — a distance maintained, if subconsciously, even today — I agree, wholeheartedly with Simic in his estimations of Armitage: who is truly an artisan of verse. Consider, for example, these verses, excerpted from the title poem of this collection. “We went out / into the school yard together, me and the boy / whose name and face / I don’t remember. We were testing the range / of the human voice: / he had to shout for all he was worth. / […] / He called from over the park — I lifted an arm. / Out of bounds, / he yelled from the end of the road. / He left town, went on to be twenty years dead / with a gunshot hole / in the roof of his mouth, in Western Australia. / Boy with the name and face I don’t remember, / you can stop shouting now. I can still hear you” (p. 1). Remarkable, the turns within such a piece: and the way it mobilizes an almost Frostian memory of youth towards an illustration of tragedy: towards capsulizing the fate of a pained life. This is excellent stuff, and the rest of the book is ripe with profundities similar, in nature & emphasis, to these. If you’re a serious reader of poetry (or a poet, yourself) and have yet to read Armitage, this is the book to go to. You will not regret it. From the collection of Laurence Goldstein (1943-2023), a renowned American author, film critic, poet, editor & academician here at the University of Michigan. Hardcover in unclipped dust-jacket: “First U.S. edition [sic],” per copyright page; first printing, as indicated by letter sequence (which begins with the letter, “A”) thereon. In very fine condition with only minute shelf-wear & some light bumping to fine-edges & corners of front, back covers & spine-edge; otherwise, pristine. Dust-jacket in fine-very Fine condition with only corresponding light shelf-wear, minute bumping, & some light rubbing to fine-edges & corners of front, back covers & spine-edge; otherwise, clean. Very Fine / Fine-Very Fine. [Item #7948]

Price: $25.00