Ulysses by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
And this gray spirit yearning in desire To follow knowledge like a sinking star, Beyond the utmost bound of human thought. ~o~O~o~ Much of Tennyson’s finest poetry is informed by … Continue reading
Getting to know my father
While visiting my mother during the summer, I picked up a book that had belonged to my father, Poems of Our Time. An Everyman edition published in 1945, it was … Continue reading
The Incident of the Poem at the Festival
It wasn’t my fault. I was eight years old, a natural mimic and I always did as I was told. The only thing I remember about the whole affair is the … Continue reading
Vulpes Random: On marking a poetry exam
I collect my share of the poetry exam scripts, put them in my bike pannier, and cycle home. I put them on the table, close my laptop to avoid distracting emails, find … Continue reading
Persian Poems selected and edited by Peter Washington
There is no other way of putting it. I was expecting mysticism and intricate illusions to hidden truths in the Everyman anthology of Persian Poems. Instead I found myself in … Continue reading
Poems from Oby, by George MacBeth
A few weeks ago I shared here my discovery that the tiny settlement of Oby in the Norfolk Broads had a dual literary heritage – the setting for Sylvia Townsend … Continue reading
Poetry Week on VL
Welcome to our 9th Annual Poetry Week! It’s the week every spring where Vulpes Libris highlights the undervalued art of verse. This year we have a bit more of a … Continue reading
“Daffodils” by William Wordsworth
One of the reasons I like this poem, which you can read here , is because it’s lighthearted. So much poetry is dark and deep, so it’s a lovely surprise … Continue reading
A Norfolk Literary Crossroads (a Vulpes Libris Random)
Sylvia Townsend Warner’s novel The Corner That Held Them (which I love with a passion – though it does divide opinion, as Bookfox Simon will attest) is set in the … Continue reading
Autumn Journal by Louis MacNeice
Due to circumstances entirely beyond her control, Kirsty has had to postpone her piece on the discoveries in the Qumran Caves until another day. So we’ve had a delve in … Continue reading
archy and mehitabel – a buyers’ guide
actually i think that should be archy and mehitabel a buyers guide as poor little archy couldn t shift the keys to insert any capitals or punctuation so in homage … Continue reading
Manawydan’s Glass Door (d’apres David Jones, 1931) by Heather Dohollau
This is a new poet to me and one I was happy to discover. Though born in Wales, she moved to France as a young woman and lived the rest … Continue reading
La Machine Infernale (The Infernal Machine) by Jean Cocteau
‘Watch now, spectator. Before you is a fully wound machine. Slowly its spring will unwind the entire span of a human life. It is one of the most perfect machines … Continue reading
Re-reading Lorca in Andalucía
When Bookfox Jackie declared the latest Poetry Week on Vulpes Libris, I had my response ready made. I had just been on holiday in Andalucía, and it had inspired me … Continue reading
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