Armada

by Brian Patten

Through the fads and fashions of the last thirty years Brian Patten has remained true to his own personal vision of poetry. Whether composing lamentations to the terrible beauty of human love, or writing his outstanding popular verse for children, he has continued to articulate and illuminate the joys and sorrows of the everyday world. His reputation has been enhanced progressively by each of his collections, and now with translations into numerous languages including Italian, Spanish, German and Polish he is acknowledged as one of Europe's foremost contemporary poets. Through his performance work he is certainly one of Britain's most popular poets. This new book of poems is Patten's eighth for adults. With its powerful opening section interweaving poems about the death of his mother and memories of his childhood with her, it is at one and the same time his most personal and universal collection. It is a book of remarkable poems offering sharp insights into life and the human condition.

Genres: Poetry

83 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Bohemian Book Lover · Rating 4 out of 5]

*"A man lives so many different lengths of time."
*Reading the poem from where this concluding line comes from days after Brian Patten's passing away
*Made it more impactful. I found nearly
*All the poems in this elegiac & nostalgic collection moving, enjoyable & aurally well-crafted, leaving a lingering effect which is what great poetry should be able to
*Do for me. In
*Almost every poem there's an unexpected line or phrase that made me hum with satisfaction. The book ends with a poem called 'The Brackets'. It's about seeing the years of birth & death in brackets next to the names of long-deceased poets, warning his fellow Merseyside poet-mates that the brackets would come for them "any day now" . I found it so synchronistic that I pencilled Brian Patten's name and his years of life in brackets at the end of the poem.

R.I.P. Brian Patten.

[Daniel Sevitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up really for one poem which I'd read has become one of the most read poems at funerals, including Ken Dodd's. It's a strong piece but it turns out that most of this collection from almost 25 years ago is just as concerned with death as "So Many Different Lengths of Time". I read the entire collection out loud in one sitting and I'm happy to say that both Patten and I are still here to attest that thinking about mortality is not the downer you might imagine.

[Anji M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is worth owning for “Inessential Things” alone but there are many highlights. Beautiful poems. Gardens, cats, and love.

[Mike Kanner · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with any collection of poems or stories, not all will strike a chord. However, overall, I enjoyed his use of words to set tone and evoke memories. I can see why he is so popular as a poet.

[Tomek Fijałkowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

great poems.