[John Betjeman: Poems Selected by Hugo Williams] (By: Hugo Williams) [published: May, 2009]

by Hugo Williams

Hardcover

Published May 7, 2009

Reviews

[Sneha Jaiswal]

He took me on long silent walks
In country lanes when young.
He knew the names of ev’ry bird
But not the song it sung.

And when he could not hear me speak
He smiled and looked so wise
That now I do not like to think
Of maggots in his eyes.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why, but the rhyming lines about a man who ‘looked so wise’ and reminded the poet ‘of maggots in his eyes’ struck me as the wittiest and most entertaining in the entire collection of John Betjeman’s poetry, selected by Hugo Williams.

A very British collection, some poems may be lost on international readers like me; yet the language, rhyme, meter, and varied themes remain vividly entertaining and impressive.

[Cat]

Format: Physical Library book.
Thoughts:
I didn't engage with the poems in this collection.
Would I seek out more from John Betjeman? Not for now.
No star rating given as it wouldn't be just or fair to the poet's obvious talent just because it's not my style of poetry.