Stride Magazine review: Dawn Ravens and Some Other Shadows

My latest review is for Stride Magazine and is of two poetry collections, one by Mario Petrucci and the other by David Miller:

"In 'foetus' from the waltz in my blood, Petrucci ends the poem wanting to:

in
cense

each word

That is also his approach in minimalistic poems like 'Again', where individual words or split words bear the entire warp and weight of the poem line by line.

David Miller, under the influence of the sublime Robert Lax, is past and present master of just such a contemplative approach. Both combine close attention to each word chosen, the resonances of each word, and that word’s position on the page, with an equally close attention to the ordinary events of daily life and the depths that their words reveal of those events."

For more on paying attention click here, for more on Robert Lax click here, for more on Stride click here, and to read my poems published by Stride, click here, here, here, and here.

Stride magazine was founded in 1982. Since then it has had various incarnations, most recently in an online edition since the late 20th century. You can visit its earlier incarnation at http://stridemagazine.co.uk.

I have read the poetry featured in Stride and, in particular, the work of its editor Rupert Loydell over many years and was very pleased that Rupert gave a poetry reading when I was at St Stephen Walbrook.

Rupert Loydell is a poet, painter, editor and publisher, and senior lecturer in English with creative writing at Falmouth University. He is interested in the relationship of visual art and language, collaborative writing, sequences and series, as well as post-confessional narrative, experimental music and creative non-fiction.

He has edited Stride magazine for over 30 years, and was managing editor of Stride Books for 28 years. His poetry books include Wildlife and Ballads of the Alone (both published by Shearsman), and The Fantasy Kid (for children).

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Robert Lax - is was - was is.