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I been there, sort of: New and Selected Poems

Mervyn Morris

Cover Picture of I been there, sort of: New and selected poems
Categories: 21st Century, Caribbean
Imprint: Carcanet Poetry
Publisher: Carcanet Press
Available as:
Paperback (88 pages)
(Pub. Jul 2006)
9781857548297
Out of Stock
  • Description
  • Excerpt
  • Author
  • Contents
  • Reviews
  • the day the music stopped
    I came by
    & was blasted
    by the poui tree's
    golden indifference

     
    from 'Diptych'
    Mervyn Morris is one of the most distinctive West Indian poets, his work characterised by economy, wit and humane seriousness. He makes elegant use of Jamaica's linguistic range, with poems in international standard English, Jamaican Creole and mixtures in between. These variations inflect his treatment of love, lust, time, memory, death, religion, politics, commitment, identity, history, art and other concerns. His poems frequently suggest the tension inherent in moments of choice.

    I Been There, Sort Of: New and Selected Poems continues the poet's exploration of self and society, 'reality' and the imagination. It brings together poems from three of Mervyn Morris's previous collections, Shadowboxing, The Pond and Examination Centre, alongside new work.
    I been there, sort of
    Short Story
    Critic
    Dialogue for One
    At a Poetry Reading
    Behind the Curtain
    Encounter
    Proposition One
    The Pledge
    Autograph Album
    Reunion
    Tournament
    Birthdays
    Eve
    Connection
    Parlour Game
    Operation
    Happy Hour
    Pantomime
    Moment of Truth
    Interview
    Persephone
    Casanova
    North Coast Hotel
    Cabal
    A Poet of the People
    Poetry Workshop
    Advisory
    Montage
    Post-colonial Identity
    Peelin Orange
    Oblation
    Toasting a Muse
    Heritage
    Muntu
    Sentences for Heritage Week
    Having Eyes that See
    Thank-you Note
    Gaffes
    Boarding School
    Caning
    After the Movie
    Tutorial
    Asylum
    To Tell the Truth
    Counsellor
    Critique
    Anniversary Proceedings
    Granny
    Praise the Lord
    At Church
    Diptych
    Au Revoir
    Farewell Function
    Transitions
    Garden
    Postcard
    Epitaph
    Jamaican Dance - 2
    A Chant Against Death
    A Word

    On Holy Week
    Prologue by the Maker
    Jesus in Gethsemane
    A Priest
    Judas
    Pilate's Wife
    Pilate
    Peter
    Soldiers
    Simon of Cyrene
    A Woman Named Mary
    Jesus on the Road
    Malefactor (Left)
    Malefactor (Right)
    Centurion
    Mary (Mother)
    John
    Joseph of Arimathaea
    Mary Magdalene
    Thomas

    from The Pond
    Valley Prince
    Stripper
    To an Expatriate Friend
    To the Unknown Non-combatant
    The Day My Father Died
    Outing
    Little Boy Crying
    Shadows
    The Roaches
    The Pond
    Narcissus
    Mariners

    from Shadowboxing
    Muse
    Afro-Saxon
    For Consciousness
    Cave
    A Voyage
    Meeting
    In the Garden
    Togetherness
    Dreamtime
    A Birthday Poem
    Terminal
    Checking Out

    from Examination Centre
    Examination Centre
    Love Is
    Peacetime
    Sister
    Seen
    There Was a Young Poet
    Data
    My Rodney Poem
    Windscreen
    Legion
    Walk Good
    Mervyn Morris was born in Jamaica in 1937 and studied at the University College of the West Indies and St Edmund Hall, Oxford. In 1992 he was a UK Arts Council Visiting Writer-in-Residence at the South Bank Centre. His previous collections include The Pond, Shadowboxing, Examination Centre and On ... read more
     'I Been There, Sort Of is a wonderful read of a range of Morris' poetry over many years.'
    Glyne Griffith, the Caribbean Review of Books
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