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CNUT
As King Cnut proved, tide and time wait for no man: An AnthropoScene, the first part of this collection, dives into the rising tides of geo-political change, the second, Our Future Is Now Downloading, explores sea-changes of more personal natures. Nathan’s debut, Threads, was long-listed for the Polari First Book Prize. His follow-up bears all the watermarks of someone who’s swum life’s emotional spectrum. Short and (bitter)sweet, this is poetry for a mobile generation, poetry for sharing – often humorous, always honest about contemporary human experience, saying more in a few lines than politicians say in volumes, it offers an antidote to modern living.
102 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 7, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 14, 2020
CNUT by Nathan Evans
CNUT is Nathan Evans second collection and is ambitious in scope, style and content. Taking in elements of myth, popular culture, social and personal commentary he creates a cycle of poems that are in turn angry, passionate, playful, sexy, earthy, melancholic, painful and always brave. As with his first collection Threads, Evans never shies away from difficult and controversial conclusions.
The poems seem to divide into two sections- those that explore the outer world and those that explore the inner. There are the same startling array of images and metaphors, the demanding portrait in 'Hot-Housed', landfills in 'Deep-Filled'. And it is this stellar cast of subjects that make the collection so damned enjoyable. This is poetry that does not keep you at arm’s length.
The same playfulness found in 'Threads' is much in evidence here as well. In 'What the Cat Dragged Back' the narrator compares his partner to a naughty ‘tom’ bringing back something ‘nasty’ from the local disco.
Other poems were deeply effecting. 'A Touch of Lavender' tells of a man’s relationship with his mother after she has an operation for a cancerous growth. The language here is filled with pain and tender in its brutal honesty.
Overall the scope of for 'Cnut' reaches far beyond that of 'Threads' and lingers in the mind and heart long after you have put it down. A truly wonderful experience.
CNUT is Nathan Evans second collection and is ambitious in scope, style and content. Taking in elements of myth, popular culture, social and personal commentary he creates a cycle of poems that are in turn angry, passionate, playful, sexy, earthy, melancholic, painful and always brave. As with his first collection Threads, Evans never shies away from difficult and controversial conclusions.
The poems seem to divide into two sections- those that explore the outer world and those that explore the inner. There are the same startling array of images and metaphors, the demanding portrait in 'Hot-Housed', landfills in 'Deep-Filled'. And it is this stellar cast of subjects that make the collection so damned enjoyable. This is poetry that does not keep you at arm’s length.
The same playfulness found in 'Threads' is much in evidence here as well. In 'What the Cat Dragged Back' the narrator compares his partner to a naughty ‘tom’ bringing back something ‘nasty’ from the local disco.
Other poems were deeply effecting. 'A Touch of Lavender' tells of a man’s relationship with his mother after she has an operation for a cancerous growth. The language here is filled with pain and tender in its brutal honesty.
Overall the scope of for 'Cnut' reaches far beyond that of 'Threads' and lingers in the mind and heart long after you have put it down. A truly wonderful experience.
November 19, 2019
The first section spills into climate change, the housing crisis, and other global abnormalities, winding fatly around each other.
The second, more personal - my favourite little “Joy Ride” is great - a little three lines about how heaven sometimes flashes in the reflection of sunlight off skyscrapers.
I wonder if that’s all we’ve got to look forward to - appreciating the sun bouncing off glass at the end of a day.
The second, more personal - my favourite little “Joy Ride” is great - a little three lines about how heaven sometimes flashes in the reflection of sunlight off skyscrapers.
I wonder if that’s all we’ve got to look forward to - appreciating the sun bouncing off glass at the end of a day.
February 11, 2021
I gave this collection of poetry a five star rating. It is really well composed with a number of short but hard hitting poems which certainly made me reflect on issues ranging from the human treatment, frequently negative in nature, of our precious planet (Deep Filled p25, is a very good example), to my own life and my place in the world, holding the hopes I do.
I wholly recommend this collection and the publishing company, Inkandescent, who deserve much credit in their commitment to bringing those marginalised into the mainstream.
I wholly recommend this collection and the publishing company, Inkandescent, who deserve much credit in their commitment to bringing those marginalised into the mainstream.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews