Manganese starts with a murder in China in the age of Confucius and ends with a sestina about a difficult family Christmas in front of the television. Plain-spoken narrative is juxtaposed with an enigmatic, densely woven imagery exploring fugitive states of mind. Uniting these extremes is a restless, rhyme-driven craftsmanship, energetic in making new forms as well as in exploiting traditional ones. The focus ranges from landmarks in cultural history, such as the first performance of Nijinsky's ballet L'apres-midi d'un faune and the first Boy Scout camp, to the poet's responses to a serious cycling accident. There are versions of ten of Rilke's Sonnets to Orpheus, following the rhyme scheme of the German, and a section of poems ('Skywatching') that combine conventional with consonantal rhyme, often capturing thoughts that travel too fast or too deep for reason.

About the Author
ROBERT SAXTON was born in Nottingham in 1952 and now lives in north London, where he is the editorial director of an illustrated book publishing company. His first collection of poetry, The Promise Clinic, was published by Enitharmon Press in 1994. He is also represented in Faber's Poetry Introduction 7 and the Carcanet/OxfordPoets anthology Oxford Poets 2001. In 2001 he won the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association's poetry prize for 'The Nightingale Broadcasts'.


Book Information
ISBN 9781903039717
Author Robert Saxton
Format Paperback
Page Count 136
Imprint OxfordPoets
Publisher Carcanet Press Ltd
Weight(grams) 183g