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Tales
In 1972 Skotnes illustrated Tales by Sinclair Beiles. This was his first attempt at book illustration – followed in 1975 by the illustration of Mhudi by Sol Plaatje.
Poems by Sinclair Beiles; foreword by Stephen Gray; with six woodcuts printed from the original blocks by Cecil Skotnes.
Poems by Sinclair Beiles; foreword by Stephen Gray; with six woodcuts printed from the original blocks by Cecil Skotnes.
46 pages, Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1972
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About the author
Sinclair Beiles
15 books3 followersSouth African beat poet and editor for Maurice Girodias at the Olympia Press in Paris. He developed along with William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin the cut-up technique of writing poetry and literature. He won the 1969 Ingrid Jonker Prize for poetry for his collection, Ashes of Experience.
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November 10, 2016
Tales is a vast improvement on Sinclair Beiles' previous publication - Deliria. This book is beautifully illustrated with original woodcuts by Cecil Skotnes which make this not only a great collection poetically but also aesthetically.
Most of the poems herein are rhyming poems, of which I am usually not a big fan, to say the least. However, most of these poems are great and the rhyming is done very humorously - almost tongue-in-cheek, actually. There are a few poems where the rhyming becomes so corny that you feel that Sinclair must be doing deliberately for comic effect.
Many of the poems contain great eternal lines but the poem PARIS is definitely the pick of the bunch. I really like the last part of the poem...
the day begins
confessed our sins
young girls bounced out of church
the clocks ticks on like guillotine
- o time is so mean -
soon death will sever all their heads
fear him more than chinese reds
old man in office all aplomb
in your heart an atom bomb.
Beiles was up against a lot of strong competitors in his time - Ginsberg, Burroughs, Corso, Gysin, Ira Cohen, Heliczer, Ferlinghetti etc. but hopefully will one day be given the full and long-awaited recognition that he so deserves.
This is my second favourite Beiles' book - the best being of course Ashes of Experience.
Highly recommended for fans of poetry, especially rhyming poetry.
Most of the poems herein are rhyming poems, of which I am usually not a big fan, to say the least. However, most of these poems are great and the rhyming is done very humorously - almost tongue-in-cheek, actually. There are a few poems where the rhyming becomes so corny that you feel that Sinclair must be doing deliberately for comic effect.
Many of the poems contain great eternal lines but the poem PARIS is definitely the pick of the bunch. I really like the last part of the poem...
the day begins
confessed our sins
young girls bounced out of church
the clocks ticks on like guillotine
- o time is so mean -
soon death will sever all their heads
fear him more than chinese reds
old man in office all aplomb
in your heart an atom bomb.
Beiles was up against a lot of strong competitors in his time - Ginsberg, Burroughs, Corso, Gysin, Ira Cohen, Heliczer, Ferlinghetti etc. but hopefully will one day be given the full and long-awaited recognition that he so deserves.
This is my second favourite Beiles' book - the best being of course Ashes of Experience.
Highly recommended for fans of poetry, especially rhyming poetry.
Displaying 1 of 1 review