Bee Journal

by Sean Borodale

Bee Journal is a startlingly original poetry sequence: a poem-journal of beekeeping that chronicles the life of the hive, from the collection of a small nucleus on the first day to the capture of a swarm two years later. It observes the living architecture of the comb, the range and locality of the colony; its flights, flowers, water sources, parasites, lives and deaths.

These poems were written at the hive wearing a veil and gloves, and the journal is an intrinsic part of the kinetic activity of keeping bees: making 'tiny, regular checks' in the turn around the central figure of the sun, and minute exploratory interventions through the round of the year. The book is full of moments of revelation - particularly of the relationship between the domestic and the wild. In attempting to record and invoke something of the complexity of the relationship between 'keeper' and 'kept' it tunes ear and speech towards the ecstasy of bees, between the known and the unknown.

Because of its genesis as a working journal, there is here an unusual intimacy and deep scrutiny of life and death in nature. The language itself is dense and clotted, the imagery thrillingly fresh, and the observing eye close, scrupulous and full of wonder. Bee Journal is one of the most unusual and exciting poetry debuts in years.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Animals, Nature, Natural History

91 pages, Paperback

First published July 5, 2012

Reviews

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the concept and the writing is lyrical and lovely. Did feel a bit disconnected to it though and it didn't particularly move me, expect in some rare moments. Enjoyed it mostly for the beauty of the words, more than any deeper meaning.

[adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

dnf because i had no clue what it meant sorry

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

oh to be a beekeeper, just living in a little cabin tending to my hives. an awesome version of nature poetry that is focused solely on a beekeeper’s diary. such gorgeous poems.

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

5 Stars for the beautiful cover and concept, only 2 for the content. As a poetry geek it left me largely unmoved. Also the intro essay is too wanky for words, like an art school grad trying to justify their end-of-year project. Disappointed

[Emily Mead]

who doesn't love BEES

[Miss Bookiverse · Rating 3 out of 5]

None of the poems really stood out to me but I liked how they collectively told a continuous tale of beekeeping throughout the seasons.

[Jonathan Gill · Rating 3 out of 5]

A year in the life of a new beekeeper, written in the apiary with the hum of the hive in the air.
Complex, thick stanzas that are both enlightening and, to me, complely unintelligible. Is Sean Borodale being deliberately opaque like a capped honey comb? Or is he operating at another level of comprehension that further reading will enlighten? I cannot decide.

[Sienna · Rating 3 out of 5]

How bees touch and re-align their touch.

Light in migration;
noise of a body in continual repair...

I love this concept: a poetic narrative recounting the life and death of a beehive from the perspective of a first-time apiarist. Borodale can write beautifully, eloquently, unexpectedly; there's a physicality to his images and turns of phrase that suits the subject matter. He plays with form, perspective and structure, but most of these pieces are short and straightforward, however lyrical. Yet, however lyrical, I found it difficult to connect with them emotionally. There are exceptions — a line here ("Strong little moon picked at your bones"), a stanza there, "11th October: Michaelmas Daisies" in its entirety — that left me breathless, as when they first find evidence of the queen, or mourn the death of drones. "Everything is dragged awake; puts on its music clothes." But for the most part I struggled through these linked poems wishing they all moved me as much as the perfect moments. Like these:

The light is Medusa,
sugar of frayed threads; a mesh, a warp-field, all
the skin of our heads.

They agitate and are in dream what sun pens.

3rd December: Notes

Listen to the rain, the rain, like the wings and legs of bees walking across bees, like the lyre of a thought, a whole possible instrument of insects.
Listen to the rain, more rain, treadling earth to the sodden cold wet spun heads of this room, pacing the winter to and fro...

The bees are crouched in the door.
Quiet, I said, listen, I said.
They fan out of the door a Minerva beard,
lay out the flight paths, the locks of hair,
combing the air's amnesia to a noise.

Don't speak, it might use up presence. Why so weak?
What song is this which kills you singers as you sing it?

Tree-flapping, guitar-like,
string-scrape signatures;
the wind's bee chanting scores,
potential, potential collapses.

Eyes fed and lit up.
Eyes starved and kicked out.

Light's skeleton puts back its fingers and flicks
the spectral end constant,
and bees just switch the wires of their song opposite;
winding the same sound the other way up.

Like hanks of yarn, this endurance of eavesdrop
grows wound and looped, and invariably it twists
between the wings and the ear.

May you come back
through the hole in the world's syllable.

I kept wondering whether my own lack of tactile experience with bees — beyond a couple sharp stings, the dripping of honey down my chin, the rush-walk beneath a too-close hive — was to blame. If I had moved white-suited, unmasked, among them, held their comb like magic in my hands, would these resonate with me more strongly? The disconnection I've described certainly reflects my failures as a reader more than Borodale's as a writer, and I feel comfortable recommending Bee Journal — but read a few pages first to gauge your reaction to these humming, thrumming nature-poems.

[Margaryta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moving and meditative, "Bee Journal" is best read by keeping in mind Borodale's own preface for the Vintage edition, in which he describes how each poem was written in the moment when observing the bees. The poems reflect this, as they are slow moving yet also heavy with affects and unspoken thoughts and sensations. Some of them were more "concrete" than others, in that they had the sense of self-containment that one often experiences when reading a poetry collection that centers around a theme. Poems like "6th September: Wild Comb Notes," "12th November: Winter Honey," "20th April," "17th July: Killing Drones,"and "10th February: Queen" were the standouts for me in this regard, capturing not simply sensations but also detailing moments in time in a way that put me into Borodale's position for a split second. Yet there is much to appreciate in the sparser and more note-like poems, of which the blank poem "24th/25th January: Bees Die" is an exteme example. I found "Bee Journal" to be much less about engaging with the topic than it was contemplating about nature and poesis simultaneously, marveling at Borodale's craft as a poet while remaining constantly aware of the beauty and sadness of the world.

[Ayla A · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this... kind of... I think...
Most of it kind went over my head. My vocabulary certainly could do with expanding to better understand lots of the poems. I did look up a few things when I could be bothered but I was reading outside for the booktubeathon and it was gettin real cold so I kinda wanted to just finish it. That probably resulted in me not taking as much of it in properly as I could have.
I did enjoy follow the progress of the hive though. And I got excited when I really GOT a poem or connected with it (even though it was rare).
Anyway the edition I have is fricken beautiful so I'm happy to have it on my shelves if only for that.

[Serena · Rating 4 out of 5]

12th June

' I watch its mechanism, its quartz pulse
drink bones of wetness from the earth's holes.'

11th October

'Alight honey bee, I do feel
the extremity of your spepctrum
that homes on an unsteady cymbal of flower's radial.
I heard it shivering tish as you touched its platform;
a close-up protracting of tongue suck in a zip-noise;
a faint sweet wet from a nectary's spring.'


A poem collection in the form of a diary, which was so beautiful to read, it is overflowing with warm, dreamy and lyrical language. Reading the book all at once may be hard to swallow, but in snippets is as sweet and precious as honey.

[Sophia Irene · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was sad to see how disappointed this book left me as the concept is incredibly smart and the cover is gorgeous. Some poems, I absolutely loved. ‘April 20th’ being my personal favourite, however throughout the rest I found myself feeling lost and struggling to keep up with the narrative.

There were some lyrical and nicely written observations on the cycle of life and death but I struggled to, I guess, care. I’m glad that some of the poems were really good but sad that the overall thing left me disappointed.

[Tate · Rating 3 out of 5]

real bucolic hours..... all the words are lovely but i started to agree w the reviews saying there’s no emotion in them. then i got to the end and! ‘10th february: dismantling the comb’ Destroyed Me. then right at the very end ‘3rd july: gift’ was such a perfect ending oh yes!!! like i wish that level of Good was sustained throughout the book but. those two poems (and a few others) really do make up for the less-good rest of the book.

[Della · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sean writes a journal of his experiences as a Beekeeper in poetic form and it is beautiful. I actually read the bulk of it in one sitting as it flows seamlessly from season to season.

"And we, beekeepers,
can only open the book part way to read what is unsaid.
Not being your drones we do not see like you."

I loved this particular verse, as I think it shows the human perspective on a hive, how we can never fully understand the inner workings and intricacies.

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

No one is surprised by me giving the book of bee poems 5 stars, but I am here to say it was 5 stars nonetheless!

I smiled, I wept, I underlined and dog eared endlessly. I will return to this collection time and time again, I can already sense it.

“You are winged strange kind, you are nerval. / Inside your fluency, / mirrors facing all mirrors shade back to eternity.”

“I look at the road we have to cross. / You are not fully ordinary, bees. / The ordinary mortals go by in cars.”

[Conor Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book as a journal and as an account of a bee-keeper's experience. But, as poetry, the book did little to impress me. Ironically my favourite poem has a title 24TH/25TH JANUARY: BEES DIE but it has no text. There are two poem which consist of one word each ("Catkins"; "Snowdrops"). The briefer the poems, the better. Not my cup of honey-flavoured tea.

[Jade Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like bees, I like poetry, and I liked this book. It's worth reading the introduction, as it puts the poems and the 'bee journal' in context. I don't know a lot about beekeeping, but these poems are pretty much a beekeeping diary in the form of poems. By the end of it I felt as though I'd witnessed the development of this particular swarm, which is what I think the author intended.

If you love bees and poetry too, then read it.

[Emma Filtness · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great concept, using poems to document, journal style, an activity such as this. Some beautiful observations of the bees in here, although I agree with Oswald's assessment that these are "pre-poems".

[Xenia Tran · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, heart-felt poetry journal on the poet's first forays into bee-keeping. The poetry itself is fresh and thoughtful, his observation of the bees' dedication and labour is truly eye-opening and this is a journal I will dip in and out of again and again.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a roller coaster of bee emotions.
Beekeeping is hard work but bad weather its even harder.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stunning experiment with language, but requires knowledge of beekeeping. Several poems were too long, in my opinion.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75*

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful little work...thought provoking simplicity and depth. A book I shall return to, again and again.
Accessible modern poetry.

[MJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Melancholy. This staccato poetry presents the sense of things. A warm glow, and a feel.
Beautifully written.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the eloquent descriptive narrative, but only made me feel once.

Reaffirms my life-long aim of being a beekeeper.

[jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

'I am their farmer / I will for weeks give this, my gift' (9).

[Sam Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvellous.

[Brumchkin Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

🐝🐝🐝

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a mixed book for me. I loved the concept, and some of the poems were amazing to read, but I feel that maybe the concept was slightly too narrow to justify the length of the book.

[Daisy Atkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

a really lovely little book, I love the idea of using poetry to journal something like the activities of the bees, reminds me of Dart by Alice Oswald in that way.