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Processing Things
"To me they are two separate worlds:
cities of people and man-made stars,
the country with lingering gods —
one poorly reflects the other."
Processing Things is the first collection of poetry by Michael A. Arnold, a young poet from England's most northern county. Starting with a return home to a landscape full of memories, these poems, set in the poet's native Northumberland, explore the themes and anxieties at the heart of modern life, and tries to find some sense in them.
Tracing the development of the poet's mind over the course of a single year, questions about creativity, nature and our treatment of it, happiness, death, our increasing reliance on technology and difference between meaning and belief are all confronted and explored in a number of ways, while ideas, mythology, philosophy and history start to intertwine. Along the way, the focus moves around in time and place: from great wildernesses to quiet villages along pleasant country lanes, from cold and rainy cities to the warmth of the Mediterranean, from the present day to distant memories, from the ghosts of history to the horrors of war and reality to fantasy.
While some poems, such as `What Nubbed Treasure,' 'Sleepless Drive and Polonius' Dilemma' consider the act and art of writing and Harold Bloom's idea of anxiety of influence, other poems such as `Pass the Heartless Day' and `A Fox, Hunting' look at how humans have shaped and moulded the natural world to our purposes, ignoring the effect these changes have made to the world, it is often the more existential, abstract questions that keep being returned to as the poet tries to process the things around him.
cities of people and man-made stars,
the country with lingering gods —
one poorly reflects the other."
Processing Things is the first collection of poetry by Michael A. Arnold, a young poet from England's most northern county. Starting with a return home to a landscape full of memories, these poems, set in the poet's native Northumberland, explore the themes and anxieties at the heart of modern life, and tries to find some sense in them.
Tracing the development of the poet's mind over the course of a single year, questions about creativity, nature and our treatment of it, happiness, death, our increasing reliance on technology and difference between meaning and belief are all confronted and explored in a number of ways, while ideas, mythology, philosophy and history start to intertwine. Along the way, the focus moves around in time and place: from great wildernesses to quiet villages along pleasant country lanes, from cold and rainy cities to the warmth of the Mediterranean, from the present day to distant memories, from the ghosts of history to the horrors of war and reality to fantasy.
While some poems, such as `What Nubbed Treasure,' 'Sleepless Drive and Polonius' Dilemma' consider the act and art of writing and Harold Bloom's idea of anxiety of influence, other poems such as `Pass the Heartless Day' and `A Fox, Hunting' look at how humans have shaped and moulded the natural world to our purposes, ignoring the effect these changes have made to the world, it is often the more existential, abstract questions that keep being returned to as the poet tries to process the things around him.
156 pages, Paperback
Published March 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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July 4, 2022There is so much to admire in this little collection of poems. I was immediately gripped by the persona Arnold developed. The first poem, "Country Boy Returns to University" sets the tone for the whole:
The night stars, I'm going to miss them
light up the dark sky, like Dante's god.
From here, on this cold hill, it seems
the earth is dark, but heaven is bright.
I'll miss the stars when I go back
to late night, streetlight revelries,
and a heaven so polluted and orange
that the sky might seem empty to you.
To me they are two separate worlds:
cities of people and man-made stars,
the country with the lingering gods--
one poorly reflects the other.
The rest of the poems take up the various threads laid out in this first one: modern distractions, civilization and nature, the natural world, mythologies, faith and religion, human interaction with people, creatures, things, the philosophies and wisdoms and confusions of a young mind brimming with books and lived experiences and struggling to articulate the disconnects as much as the connections between the many disparate interests and concerns of a young adult in an increasingly over-complicated world. Recommended.
The night stars, I'm going to miss them
light up the dark sky, like Dante's god.
From here, on this cold hill, it seems
the earth is dark, but heaven is bright.
I'll miss the stars when I go back
to late night, streetlight revelries,
and a heaven so polluted and orange
that the sky might seem empty to you.
To me they are two separate worlds:
cities of people and man-made stars,
the country with the lingering gods--
one poorly reflects the other.
The rest of the poems take up the various threads laid out in this first one: modern distractions, civilization and nature, the natural world, mythologies, faith and religion, human interaction with people, creatures, things, the philosophies and wisdoms and confusions of a young mind brimming with books and lived experiences and struggling to articulate the disconnects as much as the connections between the many disparate interests and concerns of a young adult in an increasingly over-complicated world. Recommended.
July 23, 2022
This is an enjoyable collection. From childhood memories to profound musings, the poems provide emotion and existential questioning. There are nice contrasts in imagery between city life and nature, between modernity and history, including a definite love of Dante. There is also an interesting portrayal of the experience of a deep thinker who is not necessarily understood by his peers, with that tension between the desire for a philosophical life and the desire for enjoyment. There is a hinting at the need for balance, but at the same time it is evident that the personality of the poet-narrator is naturally inclined towards more reflection, towards 'making sense' of existence, even if definitive answers are perhaps not possible. But there is a crucial recognition that suffering is necessary for deeper understanding and wisdom.
Recommended for poetry lovers
Recommended for poetry lovers
July 31, 2022
I'm not one for poetry, however, I do enjoy charming, well-written literature. Processing Things is just that and more. This collection of poems written by the fabulous Michael Arnold takes you on short, but memorable journies through drives on a snowy night, purgatory, and even an intimate look into his grandfather's time in the war. I highly recommend Processing Things, even if you're not a poetry buff. This collection of tiny tales will leave a huge impression on the soul.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews