Here's a good enough excuse that I can justify my theft (re-blogging?) from my dear, anonymous, unknown online source of refined literary youngsterism, Marginal Gloss. Outside my bathroom is a big pile of books which were on some shelves which had to go somewhere else. Near the top is an old collection of Lee Harwood's poetry, "Monster Masks," that I bought many years ago. The other day I sat on the floor reading it while I waited for my son to finish on the loo and go to bed. It includes the excellent "The Beginning Of The Story," which Marginal Gloss has now discovered a pdf of online (you have to scroll down through the other piece. Or read it and discover that you have it in a book you've found piled up outside your toilet...). I interviewed Lee Harwood around sixteen years ago when I lived in Brighton. He had me round for tea and was absolutely lovely. I was trying to be a poet but luckily I was far too bashful and awed to ask him to look at anything I'd written, despite (because of?) the debt it owed him. I was very pleased to find out, years later, that the article ended up on file in King's College as part their Eric Mottram archive. Mind you, he had a lot of magazines. I hate to think what the hall outside his bathroom looked like...
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2 comments:
Thanks again for the linkage. I'd read a lot of Harwood's stuff in bits and pieces before, but I discovered that one in a fine edition of his collected works called 'Crossing the Frozen River'. I'm quite jealous that you met the man himself. I've never met anyone...
Mr Gloss, I presume...?
That's the Paladin Poetry edition, yeah? I think that's how I came across him and Tom Raworth in the first place. They also did a couple of great collections: "Future Exiles" and "The New British Poetry." Strange to think now that this type of book could be published by a division of HarperCollins! How publishing has changed... I really wish I had found some way to stay in touch with Mr Harwood but I was (and remain) far too gauche...
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