Ice

by Gillian Clarke

The European winters of 2009 and 2010 serve as inspiration for the evocative poems in this collection that anxiously yet joyfully unite the seasons and creatures of the planet. The extremity of those record-setting winters in the UK redefined all seasons for the poet, and her notion that nature asserted itself and renewed the environment for the imagination is conveyed in poems such as “Polar,” in which a polar bear rug transforms personal and ecological longing into a creative act. The compilation presents commissioned pieces written during the author’s time as National Poet of Wales, including poems for Haiti and Guardian features for Christmas and Valentine’s Day.

Genres: Poetry, Book Club, Nature

77 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2012

About the author

Gillian Clarke is one of the central figures in contemporary Welsh poetry, the third to take up the post of National Poet of Wales. Her own poems have achieved widespread critical and popular acclaim (her Selected Poems has gone through seven printings and her work is studied by GCSE and A Level students throughout Britain) but she has also made her cultural mark through her inspirational role as a teacher, as editor of the Anglo-Welsh Review from 1975 - 1984, and as founder and President of Ty Newydd, the writers' centre in North Wales.

Clarke currently runs an organic small-holding in Ceredigion, the Welsh landscape is a shaping force in her work, together with recurrent themes of war, womanhood and the passage of time. Her last three books have all been Poetry Book Society Recommendations.

Reviews

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it. Especially in the bath. Poetry in the bath: it's the new jazz.

[Mandy Haggith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful. Contains one of my favourite polar bear poems.

[Arlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gorgeous collection and perfect for reading now, in the depth of winter. Really beautiful descriptions of both the death and decay and the stark beauty of winter, it also reflects on the tension between nature and humanity's attempts to control it, and on the beauty, resilience and violence of nature and people.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume of beautiful poetry was a pleasure to read and felt rich with the natural imagery of the Welsh countryside, of snow, ice, birds, rivers and the sea and all imbued with a rich sense of Welsh history. I was particularly moved by one particular poem about a swan patiently waiting and patrolling the river in search of its dead mate.
I found the poems to be accessible and concise; the skill here is in conjuring vivid images with the minimum of words with none of the tangled complexity that can be off-putting to someone like me who doesn't read very much poetry as a rule. I think there is a real skill in writing short poems like this and this is a volume I will be dipping back into many times.

[Daniel Stephens · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cold, bleak and often very fatalistic collection, that somehow manages to have a warming, heartfelt tread running through it.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some really moving poems. I found I could read through some really quickly yet other caught my attention and needed 're reading several times to enjoy.