 Page84 P.E.F. 196 High Road London N22 8HH UK email Page 84 visit Page 84's website read reviews of earlier issues Before commenting on this review please read the FAQ page Home page Notes for publishers Want to be a reviewer? Anthologies. Books. Audio. Magazines. Software. Video. Artefacts. Web design by Gerald England This page last updated: 26th April 2004. |
Page84 #18 | |
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Page 84 is a small publication produced on shiny card. The look is intentionally chaotic with photos, drawings and text arranged imaginatively. I like this approach, it brings an added dimension to the contents and is a refreshing source of lively visual interest. However, it results in some of the text being almost illegible and some pieces are arranged in such an interesting manner that it can be difficult to know what ends where. Some poems even only appear in part, obscured by photos! The poetry is vibrant and contemporary, much of it would probably work well as performance poetry. Eamer O'Keefe's short poem WHY POETRY? tells us that: Poetry reminds me I'm not aloneand the poetry in Page 84 certainly has an immediacy that draws the reader in and makes one feel in the company of real people. Andy Botterill's MASTERS OF THE WRITTEN WORD asks a question many writers ask themselves: are my poems just pale imitations of those I've read and dared to impersonate?Meanwhile, in AWOKEN Christopher Barnes entirely captures the immediacy of Gustav Klimt's paintings: And there was Gustav Klimt's Emilie Floge Kissing me goodmorning in sensational ravenous brushstrokes.Other poems worth mentioning are John G Hall's MINGUS and Christopher Mulrooney's NAUTICAL PROTOCOL, if only for its wonderful ending: the nightingale is rather less than the point of view I'm aiming at.Then there are the two slightly different versions of Shaun Johnson's 45-PIN PARALLEL (or are they two slightly different stanzas from the same poem?). This uncertainty is where the disadvantages of the layout come into play. Or perhaps we're meant to be confused like that and in fact we're being shown one of the advantages of the format? Whatever the answer to that question, it is certainly true to say that the more you look at Page 84 the more you find and it's great fun to read! | ||
| reviewer: Juliet Wilson. | ||
| Page84 #20 | ||
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This, "The Numbered Issue", is a double-sided leaflet for which you'll need a magnifying glass. The awkward layout is supposed to be quirky but excessive paste-up distracts from the overall enjoyment of the poems. Matt Duggan's poem opens with an account of planet earth but he calls it a reflection. He uses subtle language to make his point — basically within our lovely natural world there is worrying behaviour or disappointment: a world that seems blessed a bride tries on her second wedding dressin verse one and by verse five Church bell chimes secret sorrow, a priest hides his sins inside shadowsThere are uplifting lines too in this sort of journey poem. In NUMBER 39 Catherine Wignall gives us a rhyme poem about an old woman who can't tend her garden: a strong army of nettles makes visitors concede an escaping hedge grabs air in the streetPoems tend to be about nature, numbers or animals, the wolf, squirrel, moose, cow and frog. Kaye Axon gives us Dead frog glistening green and red Why won't people watch where They treadHer poem ORANG-U-TAN is stronger. At first you think she may be talking about a person. The title though gives away the plot and spoils it a little. CUCKOO by Catherine Wignall works on several levels about a person with a strong personality swamping another; the host is trampled before action can be taken to evict the cuckoo from their life. I found the presentation a real pain in the neck. Some poems are nice but others failed to hold my attention. Poor layout is unacceptable. The compilation doesn't name the editor, or editors and the cut-and-paste approach detracts from the poetry which is a real shame. | ||
| reviewer: Lee McLaughlin. |