Merely To Have Survived Is Not An

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.

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.

Merely To Have Survived Is Not An Index Of Excellence.

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

Mysteries, Like The Masonic Rites, Are Ones Parents And Elders Are Sworn Not To Reveal To The Uninitiated, Which Include All Children. And So We Sought For Signs.