Merely To Have Survived Is Not An

Brilliant. [lasdun] Seems To Me Certainly Among The Most Gifted, Vivid, And Deft Poets Now Writing In English, And Far Better Than Many Who Are More Famous. His Capacities Are Solidly Established; His Promise Is Nearly Infinite.

A Lot Of The Fun Lies In Trying To Penetrate The Mystery; And This Is Best Done By Saying Over The Lines To Yourself Again And Again, Till They Pass Through The Stage Of Sounding Like Nonsense, And Finally Return To A Full Sense That Had At First Escaped Notice.

Poetry Operates By Hints And Dark Suggestions. It Is Full Of Secrets And Hidden Formulae, Like A Witch's Brew.

If The Heart Has Its Reasons, Perhaps The Body Has Its Own Lumbering Sort Of Carnal Spirit, Felt In The Tingling Bruises Of Collision, And Known To Captains As Esprit De Corps.

I'm Filled With Admiration, Delight, And Gratitude At Discovering James Lasdun's Poems In A Jump Start. He Has Wit, Speed, Intelligence, A Keen Eye, Precision, And Imagination Of A High Order.