I'm always happy to have a new Marly Youmans book in the collection. But where is my copy of The Book of the Red King, and where is The Foliate Head? Anyway, I will write something about Seren, hopefully this weekend.
I'm always happy to have a new Marly Youmans book in the collection. But where is my copy of The Book of the Red King, and where is The Foliate Head? Anyway, I will write something about Seren, hopefully this weekend.
Impressed that you have the rare UK ones--The Foliate Head and Val/Orson.
ReplyDeleteI don't know where I got my copy of Val/Orson, but it has your signature on the title page. I think it was a review copy or an ARC. I bought it online, where the world is one big shopping mall. I'm pretty sure I got The Foliate Head from some wee British bookshop, also online. That is one great book; I remember that I almost wrote a whole novel based on a single image from one of the poems. I was already in the middle of writing some novel or other, so the moment passed. But it was a powerful moment.
ReplyDeleteI think The Foliate Head is my favorite among the collections as well, though it was a limited edition... Wonder which poem.
DeleteGood of you to track those down!
I have a similar pile of Marly Youmans books (including The Foliate Head), although my personal favorite is still Thaliad. I'm enjoying a slow, satisfying read of "Seren..." right now...
ReplyDeleteI'm pleased to report that The Red King and Foliate Head showed up on our poetry shelf, which should come as no surprise. When I opened Seren and saw the bob-and-wheel, the first thing I thought of was your translation of The Tale of Charlemagne and Ralph the Collier. Marly's use of long stanzas in iambic pentameter leading into the bob-and-wheel sort of (to me anyway) gives the impression of a leggy Elizabethan sonnet. I wish I would finish the post about that book that I'm writing. My day job is beating me up right now. Damn you, higher education industry!
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