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Pluto
Pluto – the non-planet, the ex-planet – is the dominant celestial influence in Glyn Maxwell’s new collection: Pluto is a book about change, the before-and-after of love, the aftermath of loss: change of status and station, home and place, of tense and pronoun. It also marks a radical departure for one of our most celebrated English poets: his formidable skills as a rhetorician and dramatist are suddenly directed inwardly, to produce poems of brutal self-examination, raw elegy, and strange songs of the kind those bruising encounters often leave us singing to ourselves. In Pluto, Maxwell has set out something like a metaphysic of the affair; the result is a lean and concentrated poetry of great emotional power, and far and away Glyn Maxwell’s most directly personal work to date.
- GenresPoetry
54 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2013
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About the author
Glyn Maxwell
52 books46 followersGlyn Maxwell is a poet and playwright. He has also written novels, opera libretti, screenplay and criticism.
His nine volumes of poetry include The Breakage, Hide Now, and Pluto, all of which were shortlisted for either the Forward or T. S. Eliot Prizes, and The Nerve, which won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize. He was one of the original ‘New Generation Poets’ in 1993, along with Simon Armitage, Carol Ann Duffy and Don Paterson. His poetry has been published in the USA since 2000. His Selected Poems, One Thousand Nights and Counting, was published on both sides of the Atlantic in 2011. He has a long association with Derek Walcott, who taught him in Boston in the late 1980s, and whose Selected Poems he edited in 2014.
On Poetry, a guidebook for the general reader, was published by Oberon in their Masters Series in 2012. It was described by Hugo Williams in The Spectator as ‘a modern classic’ and by Adam Newey in The Guardian as ‘the best book about poetry I’ve ever read.’
Fifteen of Maxwell’s plays have been staged in London and New York, including Liberty at Shakespeare’s Globe, The Lifeblood at Riverside Studios, and The Only Girl in the World at the Arcola, as well as work at the Almeida, Theatre 503, Oxford Playhouse, the Hen and Chickens, and RADA. He has written extensively for the Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre in Chester.
His opera libretti include The Firework Maker’s Daughter (composer David Bruce) which was shortlisted for ‘Best New Opera’ at the Oliviers in 2014, Seven Angels (Luke Bedford) inspired by Paradise Lost, and The Lion’s Face (Elena Langer), a study of dementia. All of these were staged at the Royal Opera House and toured the UK.
He is currently working on a screen adaptation of Henry James’s The Beast in the Jungle for the Dutch director Clara Van Gool.
His nine volumes of poetry include The Breakage, Hide Now, and Pluto, all of which were shortlisted for either the Forward or T. S. Eliot Prizes, and The Nerve, which won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize. He was one of the original ‘New Generation Poets’ in 1993, along with Simon Armitage, Carol Ann Duffy and Don Paterson. His poetry has been published in the USA since 2000. His Selected Poems, One Thousand Nights and Counting, was published on both sides of the Atlantic in 2011. He has a long association with Derek Walcott, who taught him in Boston in the late 1980s, and whose Selected Poems he edited in 2014.
On Poetry, a guidebook for the general reader, was published by Oberon in their Masters Series in 2012. It was described by Hugo Williams in The Spectator as ‘a modern classic’ and by Adam Newey in The Guardian as ‘the best book about poetry I’ve ever read.’
Fifteen of Maxwell’s plays have been staged in London and New York, including Liberty at Shakespeare’s Globe, The Lifeblood at Riverside Studios, and The Only Girl in the World at the Arcola, as well as work at the Almeida, Theatre 503, Oxford Playhouse, the Hen and Chickens, and RADA. He has written extensively for the Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre in Chester.
His opera libretti include The Firework Maker’s Daughter (composer David Bruce) which was shortlisted for ‘Best New Opera’ at the Oliviers in 2014, Seven Angels (Luke Bedford) inspired by Paradise Lost, and The Lion’s Face (Elena Langer), a study of dementia. All of these were staged at the Royal Opera House and toured the UK.
He is currently working on a screen adaptation of Henry James’s The Beast in the Jungle for the Dutch director Clara Van Gool.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 31, 2014
This book requires careful reading; ts themes include death, loss, and aging; its syntax requires close reading to follow.
3/31/14: I did return to the book and note, first, an interesting "metaphysical" poem based on what we call tic-tac-toe, "Greenwich," which implies the passage of time; the poem makes very fever use of the X's and O's of the game and of a lost love affair.
I was stunned by the depth and beauty of "Birthplace" which recounts the speaker's life and the many changes in it and in his environment, a poem that those of us "of an age" may wistfully share. The final poem in the collection, "Homeward Orpheus," is a lovely comment on the world of the poet, the merciless humor of the gods, and the melancholy getting on despite the failure to capture the perfect image.
A truly lovely book.
3/31/14: I did return to the book and note, first, an interesting "metaphysical" poem based on what we call tic-tac-toe, "Greenwich," which implies the passage of time; the poem makes very fever use of the X's and O's of the game and of a lost love affair.
I was stunned by the depth and beauty of "Birthplace" which recounts the speaker's life and the many changes in it and in his environment, a poem that those of us "of an age" may wistfully share. The final poem in the collection, "Homeward Orpheus," is a lovely comment on the world of the poet, the merciless humor of the gods, and the melancholy getting on despite the failure to capture the perfect image.
A truly lovely book.
June 6, 2020
I don't read a lot of poetry (something I'm trying to change) so this was a nice volume to get started with. Short and with poems of varying length, all of them clear and precise and emotional. There's a strong voice here and a distinct rhythm to many of the poems that made them easy to read, almost natural, like a pulse that felt in some way familiar.
I would especially like to point out two poems in particular. The first, The Case of After, used language and rhyme brilliantly and was incredible to read out, with the rhyme and rhythm aligning and then veering off and coming back again. From a technical standpoint it was really interesting to read. The second poem was The Window, which was beautifully written and loaded with emotion, not to mention some wonderful lines and word choices.
Of the others, there were none I disliked. Of course there are those I prefer, but I found something to like in all of them and many places where lines are going to stick with me. This was a good choice to make in terms of getting back into poetry.
I would especially like to point out two poems in particular. The first, The Case of After, used language and rhyme brilliantly and was incredible to read out, with the rhyme and rhythm aligning and then veering off and coming back again. From a technical standpoint it was really interesting to read. The second poem was The Window, which was beautifully written and loaded with emotion, not to mention some wonderful lines and word choices.
Of the others, there were none I disliked. Of course there are those I prefer, but I found something to like in all of them and many places where lines are going to stick with me. This was a good choice to make in terms of getting back into poetry.
April 18, 2022
Sometimes too obscure
There are some great uses of language and some brilliant moments in this volume. Some of the poems seem to be encased in pointless levels of obscurity. I have the feeling that this might read better in subsequent visits.
There are some great uses of language and some brilliant moments in this volume. Some of the poems seem to be encased in pointless levels of obscurity. I have the feeling that this might read better in subsequent visits.
February 25, 2020
Not too keen on the long poems!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews