Divine Hours - by Simon Barraclough (Paperback)

About the Book

Divine Hours is a collection of poetry which has that intangible sense of being in the presence of a master craftsman, showing us the possibilities of language at its most inventive, and its most necessary.

Book Synopsis

Divine Hours is a collection of poetry which has that intangible sense of being in the presence of a master craftsman, showing us the possibilities of language at its most inventive, and its most necessary. Simon Barraclough's work showcases a confidence in the music and structure of poetry's potential, and a willingness to test the mettle of words beyond the constraints of their usual associations.

Review Quotes

Simon Barraclough's associative flourishes of the unconscious are reminiscent of Joyce; his dark, bathetic humour recalls Beckett; his majestic lines and themes are Miltonic. And yet. These dazzling poems are entirely distinctive. Simon has again put his inimitable voice and style into a collection of poems that resembles nothing else being written today, restoring my faith that innovations in poetry are not only still possible, but being enacted by capable hands.

- Kathryn Maris

What Divine Hours displays in super-abundance is an awareness of the quicksilver nature of play - how serious and direct a method it is of getting at the heart of matters. And it's really this that we recognise in him: the poet as revelator, showing us our most intimate attempts to negotiate a reality that seems determined only to manifest itself in the things we invent.

- Bill Herbert