The Orchid Boat is a weave of stories: some personal, some historical, some real, some imaginary. Often these stories may co-exist in a poem just as they do in one's everyday mind, as a collage mirroring our own perception of the world. It is a mix that can include Alexandria or China or Brighton or North Wales. These interwoven stories insist on the acceptance of contradictions and complexity in people and in life; a recognition characteristic of Harwood's poetry and shaped by his acknowledged influences: Gide, de Montherlant and Cavafy, John Ashbery and Frank O'Hara. In Harwood's poems the richest material and tone is found in 'the ordinary', and in The Orchid Boat this focus is thrown into even greater relief as he explores the power and weight of memories.

About the Author
Lee Harwood was born in 1939 and grew up in Surrey. He has spent the majority of the past 35 years living in Brighton. In a writing career that began in the early 1960s he has published over 20 volumes of poetry and prose, as well as translations of Tristan Tzara. His work has been widely anthologised and his Collected Poems was published by Shearsman in 2004. ------ John Ashbery: 'Lee Harwood is my favourite English romantic poet' ------ Chicago Review: 'a singer of beautiful and poignant songs'


Book Information
ISBN 9781907587535
Author Lee Harwood
Format Paperback
Page Count 48
Imprint Enitharmon Press
Publisher Enitharmon Press