Reader Please Supply Meaning

by Jim Murdoch

A poem is, at least according to Paul Valéry, "never finished, only abandoned." It's up to its readers to complete the text. This, of course, echoes what Samuel Johnson wrote: "A writer only begins a book. A reader finishes it." A written text, any written text, the text you're reading right now, only comes to life when someone reads it. When I lay out words on a page and call that arrangement a poem, all I've done, if you'll forgive the crude and rather obvious analogy, is kludge together body parts and left it up to you to animate them. You are my bright sparks.

109 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

I was born in Glasgow in 1959 and although throughout my life I have lived in most parts of Scotland I have found myself continually drawn back to the "friendly city" where I now live quietly on the outskirts with my wife.

My writing career began at school and I continue to write and publish poetry to this day. During the nineties I experienced a lengthy period of writer's block - it lasted two years - then one day I sat down and started writing. Twenty-one pages left I had the bare bones of a novel, Living with the Truth.

Since then I've started to broaden my horizons completing two plays and a decent body of short stories. I am currently trying to decide if I'm writing my sixth novel or just kidding myself.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The eponymous poem in this collection is the one that brought the author into my life. Since that day a quarter of a century ago, Jim Murdoch has been MY bright spark. Before all things, Jim is a poet. This collection is a good selection from a much bigger canon. I highly recommend it.