Pathways by John Mole

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In these 'notebook' poems, John Mole reflects on poetic craft and imagination. In a series of playful sketches, wry prompts, and ironic reminders to himself, he offers a glimpse in to his own poetic practice, with its characteristic lightness of touch. An accomplished jazz clarinettist, Mole finds parallels in the world of music, as well as in dance and painting. Improvisation, surprise and accident all play their part in the act of composition, as well as the willingness to trust a poem to find its own way. Pathways gives readers a behind-the-scenes sense of how a seemingly effortless poem comes into being through the combination of technical discipline and imaginative freedom. 'John Mole's needle-sharp feeling for language feeds both his humour and his seriousness. Often he seems to push us gently into understanding that the most serious things may also be the lightest and slightest'. " Helen Dunmore Show more