Grain

Poetry Book Society Recommendation Though John Glenday has long been admiredfor his lyrically delicate and emotionally powerful poetry he has remainedsomething ... » 

Poetry Book Society Recommendation Though John Glenday has long been admiredfor his lyrically delicate and emotionally powerful poetry he has remainedsomething of a wellkept secret. His third collection Grain makes hissingular talent available to a wider audience. Sometimes Glendays poems areforcefully direct sometimes they are so quiet they feel as if they werecomposed within a capacious listening as a form of secular prayer. Glendaysseamless lyric can also disguise some wild and surreal tales the Beauty andthe Beast told in reverse a bizarre list of new saints or a can of peacheswaiting for the invention of the tinopener. However the lasting impression isof a genuinely spiritual poet one with the ability to turn every earthlydetail towards the same clear light. Grain announces Glenday as an essentialvoice in contemporary poetry. «