James Kirkup
James Kirkup (1918 - 2009) was a prolific poet and translator. His work includes several dozen poetry collections, six volumes of autobiography and over a hundred monographs of original work and translations. He was a skilled writer of haiku and tanka. Red Squirrel are delighted to bring his Bewick Bestiary back into print.
Originally published in 1971 by the Mid Northumberland Arts Group, Ashington, the book brings together original poems by James Kirkup and animal woodcuts by Thomas Bewick.
Two poems: The Snowy Owl and The Zebra | Review | more about James Kirkup at Red Squirrel Press.
ISBN 978-1-906700-19-5
£6.99 plus 99p postage and packing.
or send a cheque for £7.98 and payable to Red Squirrel Press to
Red Squirrel Press, PO Box 219, Morpeth, Northumberland NE61 9AU,
with your name and address and saying you want a copy of A Bewick Bestiary.
THE SNOWY OWL
Eyes rounder than round
in the rounder than round
mask of visage,
a snowy ruff.
Head, chimney-cowl, turns
almost full circle
on plumed neck, dusky-spotted -
all muscular shoulders and chest.
You grip the crag
with midnight talons:
white spook of the fells -
beak black in so much snow.
THE ZEBRA
upon shoulder
and masks
upon head
and gills
upon flank
and rills
upon back
and furrows
on forehead
and wrinkles
on neck,
on ankles -
Zany
pit pony
fenced in the
locked
prison of stripes.
Zany
pit pony
fenced in the
open
prison of stripes -
bodypainted
with brushes
of black
or white -
skintight
bodystocking
smoothed op
art into ribs
upon ribs
and rings
upon tail and shawls
"First published in 1971, it is a series of delightful, clever and quirky poems based on animal woodcuts by the Northumberland artist Thomas Bewick - for example, The Peacock ('noctambulating rainbow! Screaming queen! Dragon in drag!'), The Common Cart-Horse ('Shaggy working lad,/ your attitude all patience/ and endurance,/ slow as coal') and The Zebra ('Zany/ pit pony/ fenced in the/ open/ prison of stripes')."
Andy Croft, Morning Star
Read the Shields Gazette's account of the launch of this book.