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Landing Light
Second impression hard cover in very good condition, with unclipped dust jacket in good condition. Signed and dedicated by author on title page. General shelf and handling wear, including light tanning, and minor creasing and wear to cover jacket, edges and corners. Light tanning to pageblock, this leading into page edges. Boards are in fine condition, pages tightly bound, content unmarked. CN
- GenresPoetryNonfiction
112 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
11 people are currently reading
205 people want to read
About the author
Don Paterson
61 books102 followersDon Paterson (b. 1963) is a Scottish poet and writer. He is the author of sixteen books of poetry, aphorism, criticism, memoir and poetic theory. His poetry has won many awards, including the Whitbread Poetry Prize, the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize, the Costa Poetry Award, three Forward Prizes, the T.S. Eliot Prize on two occasions, and the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry.
He is a Professor Emeritus at the University of St. Andrews, and for twenty-five years was Poetry Editor at Picador MacMillan. He has long had a parallel career as a jazz guitarist.
He lives in Kirriemuir, Angus.
He is a Professor Emeritus at the University of St. Andrews, and for twenty-five years was Poetry Editor at Picador MacMillan. He has long had a parallel career as a jazz guitarist.
He lives in Kirriemuir, Angus.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
May 28, 2024
Mummy Bloggers currently gush on their blogs and social media about the joys and trials of having children as if they were the first humans to ever give birth.
Don Paterson has written a couple of poems that will tell you more about parenthood than all the parenting advice rolled into one from everyone bar your mother.
He's also got the knack for writing about things that most authors struggle with or tend to cliché.
from My Love
It's not the lover that we love, but love
itself, love as in nothing, as in O;
love is the lover's coin, a coin of no country,
hence: the ring; hence: the moon -
no wonder that empty circle so often figures
in our intimate dark, our skin-trade,
that commerce so furious we often think
love's something we share; but we're always wrong.
or this section from The White Lie
no one at one with all the universe
can touch one thing; in such supreme divorce,
what earthly use are we to our lost brother
when we must stay partly lost to find each other?
and the ending.......
and that there might be time enough
to die in, dark to read by, distance to love.
and this from A Talking Book
By all means, turn the page or close the book.
But first, imagine how this world would look
were it not duly filtered, cropped and strained
through that pinhole camera you call a brain
by whose inverted dim imaginings
you presume to question it. So many things
are hidden from you.
A Talking Book, and The Black Box are the best and better than the third instalment of The Alexandrian Library. The highlights reel however (for those both short of time and attention) also includes The White Lie, The Rat, Walking With Russell, The Reading, and A Gift
Don Paterson has written a couple of poems that will tell you more about parenthood than all the parenting advice rolled into one from everyone bar your mother.
He's also got the knack for writing about things that most authors struggle with or tend to cliché.
from My Love
It's not the lover that we love, but love
itself, love as in nothing, as in O;
love is the lover's coin, a coin of no country,
hence: the ring; hence: the moon -
no wonder that empty circle so often figures
in our intimate dark, our skin-trade,
that commerce so furious we often think
love's something we share; but we're always wrong.
or this section from The White Lie
no one at one with all the universe
can touch one thing; in such supreme divorce,
what earthly use are we to our lost brother
when we must stay partly lost to find each other?
and the ending.......
and that there might be time enough
to die in, dark to read by, distance to love.
and this from A Talking Book
By all means, turn the page or close the book.
But first, imagine how this world would look
were it not duly filtered, cropped and strained
through that pinhole camera you call a brain
by whose inverted dim imaginings
you presume to question it. So many things
are hidden from you.
A Talking Book, and The Black Box are the best and better than the third instalment of The Alexandrian Library. The highlights reel however (for those both short of time and attention) also includes The White Lie, The Rat, Walking With Russell, The Reading, and A Gift
January 5, 2020
"The present is a trick played by your head.
You already walk among the mineral dead.
You have slipped off into the time the way a leaf will wither and detach itself and drift
into a stream, not knowing its free spirit
is death, its animation lent to it.
There is no wall. Pick up your bed. Walk through it.
Last chance, friend. So do it or don't do it."
You already walk among the mineral dead.
You have slipped off into the time the way a leaf will wither and detach itself and drift
into a stream, not knowing its free spirit
is death, its animation lent to it.
There is no wall. Pick up your bed. Walk through it.
Last chance, friend. So do it or don't do it."
August 31, 2016
I'm not a big poetry fan, but "Waking with Russell" brings tears of happiness to my eyes every time.
July 30, 2021
"It's not the lover that we love, but love / itself, love as in nothing, as in O; / love is the lover's coin, a coin of no country, / hence, the ring; hence, the moon" (43, My Love).
I got Kerouac vibes and wanted to run away, but at least it's slightly more elegant than Bukowski. I did like "The Wreck" and "Waking with Russell" and enjoyed the use of Scots, but "I watch the condensation gently throb / across the window like a fleet of sperm" (35)... Really? I can only take so much masculinized posturing.
I got Kerouac vibes and wanted to run away, but at least it's slightly more elegant than Bukowski. I did like "The Wreck" and "Waking with Russell" and enjoyed the use of Scots, but "I watch the condensation gently throb / across the window like a fleet of sperm" (35)... Really? I can only take so much masculinized posturing.
December 6, 2023
Favourite poems:
Waking with Russell (my all-time Paterson favourite)
The Forest of the Suicides
The Reading (for its lovely rhythm)
Twinflooer
Waking with Russell (my all-time Paterson favourite)
The Forest of the Suicides
The Reading (for its lovely rhythm)
Twinflooer
March 1, 2025
Extremely cool that Paterson used to be a jazz musician. Makes sense given his talent to sustain melody in such structured verse. A brilliant and consistent collection that approaches selfhood in a way that is both serious and hilarious. Weird and spiritual and dark and affecting.
partially-read
May 17, 2012http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/...
“One morning/you hover on the threshold, knowing for certain/the first touch of the light will finish you.”
From "The Forest of the Suicides":
There it roots, and drives up through the clay // to grow into the shape of its own anguish. (p. 15)
From "A Talking Book":
...First, to those rare birds
for whom all journeyings are heavenwards,
who always wing it, mapless and alone... (p. 28)
By all means, turn the page or close the book.
But first, imagine how this world would look
were it not duly filtered, cropped and strained
through that pinhole camera you call a brain
by whose inverted dim imaginings
you presume to question it. So many things
are hidden from you. (32)
It is always
dusk at the crossing, whatever your watch says. (32)
...the chains of now, the tyranny of here...(33)
The present is a trick played in your head. (33)
From "The Last Waltz":
...What work is so defeated
by itself, as all our scribbling in the air? (39)
From "My Love":
It's not the lover that we love, but love
itself, love as in nothing...
...we often think
love's something we share; but we're always wrong. (45)
“One morning/you hover on the threshold, knowing for certain/the first touch of the light will finish you.”
From "The Forest of the Suicides":
There it roots, and drives up through the clay // to grow into the shape of its own anguish. (p. 15)
From "A Talking Book":
...First, to those rare birds
for whom all journeyings are heavenwards,
who always wing it, mapless and alone... (p. 28)
By all means, turn the page or close the book.
But first, imagine how this world would look
were it not duly filtered, cropped and strained
through that pinhole camera you call a brain
by whose inverted dim imaginings
you presume to question it. So many things
are hidden from you. (32)
It is always
dusk at the crossing, whatever your watch says. (32)
...the chains of now, the tyranny of here...(33)
The present is a trick played in your head. (33)
From "The Last Waltz":
...What work is so defeated
by itself, as all our scribbling in the air? (39)
From "My Love":
It's not the lover that we love, but love
itself, love as in nothing...
...we often think
love's something we share; but we're always wrong. (45)
September 9, 2015
Not an easy read - like much good poetry, it took - and repaid - effort. I preferred the shorter poems which, at best, had a directness, an emotional immediacy and clarity of vision. Read: "The Hunt", "The Rat" (not so much a poem about a rat as a poem about a poem about a rat...). I couldn't manage the scots poems to be honest. But all in all - well worth the effort.
March 5, 2010
The kind of poetry has the ability to suck you in, ever so slowly, but ever so surely, and lead you into a new world of the most moving language and images. It's the kind of book you can become obsessed with.
March 28, 2012
Some lovely reflective moments here.
"I post this more in testament/ than hope or warning."
"With its avian knack of mimcry, its song/ is like a loop-tape of the children it has tortured."
"What would a little pity have set you back?"
"I post this more in testament/ than hope or warning."
"With its avian knack of mimcry, its song/ is like a loop-tape of the children it has tortured."
"What would a little pity have set you back?"
May 14, 2013
This is another five star for me. Contemporary poems, using today's vibrant sometimes quirky language and yet some felt as though they were firmly rooted in tradition. My favorite was The Black Box, for it's range and strength. But I loved them all.
October 9, 2009
My teacher. The guy who taught me what it looks like when a poem stands up and walks around. Really tight poems.
March 13, 2011
A talent craftsman with an uncommon intellect, deep insight, and the ability to mix this in fascinating ways with quirky humor.
October 20, 2020
I prefer his later work than this one, but there are a few gems in this book that I'll definitely come back to and read again at a later date.
December 12, 2023
This was my first time with this poet, and I enjoyed reading the collection.
Paterson’s style varies positively; full of beautiful surreal imagery, and smattered with acerbic, sometimes meta, humour.
Form and lineation are also varied. Paterson demonstrates comfortably that he can write in a voice uniquely his own, whilst drastically altering layout. Even creative shape poems occur amidst really short and really long works! You never knew what the next page would look like.
There were moments which referenced ancient mythology, areas that I have no knowledge of, but that didn’t get in the way of enjoying the language. If I read the stories referred to in these poems, my understanding of the poems would unlock further.
Common themes I found threading their way through this collection include: Travel, Sex, History, Art, Nature.
Favourite poems: The Thread, A Talking Book, Web
Paterson’s style varies positively; full of beautiful surreal imagery, and smattered with acerbic, sometimes meta, humour.
Form and lineation are also varied. Paterson demonstrates comfortably that he can write in a voice uniquely his own, whilst drastically altering layout. Even creative shape poems occur amidst really short and really long works! You never knew what the next page would look like.
There were moments which referenced ancient mythology, areas that I have no knowledge of, but that didn’t get in the way of enjoying the language. If I read the stories referred to in these poems, my understanding of the poems would unlock further.
Common themes I found threading their way through this collection include: Travel, Sex, History, Art, Nature.
Favourite poems: The Thread, A Talking Book, Web
October 11, 2020
I’ve just finished reading this one... Have you ever regretted carrying on with something you were reading that you absolutely hated and just could not gel with? This collection was one of those rare occasions for me! I kept reading on because I felt sure the next poem would be brilliant, then the next, the next and so on... Totally not the case with this pile of unmitigated tripe! It started off badly enough and then just got progressively more awful with every page I turned... It isn’t often that I say this but... I absolutely hated this book! I will also stand by my use of the word “Tripe” to describe it too! Off to the charity it will go as soon as they start accepting donations again!
Read
June 4, 2022“One morning you hover in the threshold, knowing for certain the first touch of the light will finish you.”
“Then there was no arriving and no leaving, just a dream of the disintricated life-“
“-say just how the spirit comes to be so caught in these terrible spasms, and if perhaps one day it might be wrested free of its own knot.”
“Your life has a smack of the prequel about it- a bit underfunded, with you just a trifle miscast in the role of the younger yourself.”
“What earthly use are we to our lost brother when we must stay partly lost to find each other?”
“Then there was no arriving and no leaving, just a dream of the disintricated life-“
“-say just how the spirit comes to be so caught in these terrible spasms, and if perhaps one day it might be wrested free of its own knot.”
“Your life has a smack of the prequel about it- a bit underfunded, with you just a trifle miscast in the role of the younger yourself.”
“What earthly use are we to our lost brother when we must stay partly lost to find each other?”
December 28, 2020
I've read this book but it's a demanding and complex collection that will demand further study. I don't feel Paterson is being obscure for the sake of it; he has a lot to say, doesn't want to waste a word and is very often seeking very hard for the precise phrase that best does the job. Fans of his music - he was guitarist in the very accessible jazz folk band Lammas - might be surprised at how demanding some of this stuff is. Personally, though, I reckon this one is well worth the effort.
September 19, 2017
3-1/2 stars
Paterson is very popular, and I do like some of his poems. In this collection I truly liked about one-third of them and moderately liked about 1/3. Some I must admit I did not cotton to at all. Among my favorites were Waking with Russell, The Gift, and Letter to the Twins. Some of the poetry is very sensual.
Paterson is very popular, and I do like some of his poems. In this collection I truly liked about one-third of them and moderately liked about 1/3. Some I must admit I did not cotton to at all. Among my favorites were Waking with Russell, The Gift, and Letter to the Twins. Some of the poetry is very sensual.
August 17, 2018
Along with another of his book of poems I read - "40 Sonnets" - major beauty in all the ways to make poetry. Great handler of all the forms and cadences and rhyming and in love with the traditions - like Auden was. But also new words, new music, new sights using the older tools. He has a recent big book out now about the craft: The Poem: Lyric, Sign, Metre which I'd like to find.
March 2, 2023
This collection took me on a journey from tear-jerking moving to laugh out loud hilarity! The title interested me (not named after a poem) - what does it mean? The light that guides you through to the dark upstairs? I couldn’t put this collection down. Personal favourites included: The Wreck, Luing and twinfloorer.
August 9, 2024
Lovely. These poems are at times vibrant and humorous, at times sensual and tender, at times harsh, at times loving and lyrical. The words dance and jump and tumble off the page, but they also meander and flow as well. This little book packs a good variety of poems and every one of them is wonderfully crafted and articulated.
May 18, 2017
A lovely book of poetry that demanded attention and close detail. These are poems that extract beauty and reflection in the midst of tight form.
September 1, 2013
A frustrating book. The language is clever and beautiful, especially when it startles you with prosiac modernity, but much of it seems to be about subjects of which I know nothing - meaning that many of the poems in English were no more comprehensible than those written in Scots (and the Scots at least had some translation)
May 19, 2016
Difficult to read.
I really enjoyed "The Rat" though, (http://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org....) which is amusing considering its theme. Like the poet within that poem I don't understand the craft enough to enjoy the rest of the collection.
I really enjoyed "The Rat" though, (http://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org....) which is amusing considering its theme. Like the poet within that poem I don't understand the craft enough to enjoy the rest of the collection.
July 2, 2024
Traditional in form and metre, but made less traditional with regularly choosing the half-rhyme. In Landing Light, primarily, rhythm rules. There’s even an Orphic poem shaped like a guitar to prove it.
March 31, 2009
I just remembered reading this book a few years back. Unfortunately, I can't remember much about the actual book. I think I liked it?
April 25, 2016
Quite a difficult read but enjoyable
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews