Alibi

by Ruth Padel

24 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1985

About the author

Ruth is an English poet and writer. She has published poetry collections, novels, and books of non-fiction, including several on reading poetry. She has presented Radio 4′s Poetry Workshop, visiting poetry groups across the UK to discuss their poems.

Her awards include First Prize in the UK National Poetry Competition, a Cholmondeley Award from The Society of Authors, an Arts Council of England Writers’ Award and a British Council Darwin Now Research Award for her novel Where the Serpent Lives.

Ruth lives in London and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, a Member of the Bombay Natural History Society, an Ambassador for New Networks for Nature, a Patron of 21st-Century Tiger and a Council Member of the Zoological Society of London.

Reviews

[Daphne Harries · Rating 5 out of 5]

How can such a small amount of paper evoke such admiration? Padel’s use of allusion to deconstruct preconceptions surrounding relationships is undeniably masterful, and I think if I used my brain hard enough, every verse would be somewhat allegorical. She navigates double meanings and stereotypes with refined ease; she utilises the Classical and Historical knowledge to further impede meanings into a pamphlet than many collections fail to achieve. The pamphlet offers you purpose. A reason to read, to seek, to observe, within or without the shrouded shadow of safety Padel casts for her readers. Although readers are rarely the subject of her poetic gaze, our role is constantly reminded, echoed in the (at times, jarring) voyeuristic tone that so many of the few poems are written in. Alibi is one of my greatest treasures.