 Purple Patch 25 Griffiths Rd West Bromwich B71 2EH UK ISSN 0966-5609 £2.80 including supplement Magazine only £1.50 Subscriptions: 3 issues for £4 Read reviews of later issues email Purple Patch Read reports of The Purple Patch Convention 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: 11th August 2004. |
Purple Patch #100 | |
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Rather than self-indulge, Geoff Stevens has marked the 100th issue of Purple Patch by concentrating, once again, on the careful selection of poetry that provokes. This laudable principle perhaps explains why Geoff made only one concession to the formalities of achieving such a milestone: he enlisted the help of Poetry Monthly’s Martin Holroyd in the production of the magazine, which looks good. Like its 99 predecessors, this issue squeezes its range of cosmopolitan poems into almost every available space. The effect is similar to that of switching across a plethora of different European cable TV channels, except, of course, that each of these contributions is worth pausing for and tuning into. The magazine is made up of fine poems which connect with the complex cultures influencing our lives. For example, Keith Lobban, Julie Ashpool, Geoff William and Stevens use references to popular music in their poems, which effectively underline how close its features can be to poetry, both being capable of transient or permanent impact. William begins, in WUKASE, with a Black Sabbath lyric. Then he remembers:
Crunching, hissing together as one, falling
in a tumble of skis and bodies, laughing.
There is a strong strand of writing set outside these islands,
as in William's two Eastern European poems,
which are rich in their sense of place. Bob Eccleston's evocative
tribute to a Polish émigré creates a powerful historical perspective;
Robert Cole paints precisely a shadowy Parisian night scene, while in
vivid contrast Robert Hirst's NAPOLI is a feast of cluttered colours.
In the home grown material, there is no vapid introspection. Instead Andrew Darlington translates night thoughts and dreams into a lively and amusing collage of imagery, SET THE TWILIGHT REELING — and Martin Holroyd's SEA TOWN, JANUARY is littered with poignant images of lost holidays. Meanwhile, Diccon Sands crosses out (literally) the names of 30 volumes from the canon of MODERN POETRY. They are interspersed with a simple reminder to us all that we may never achieve, in our own work:
the belt and knuckle taste of cruelty.
A poem by D.F. Lewis suggests this magazine is like an exotic plot.
Its 100th issue confirms that Purple Patch
is a place where many good things bloom, under the energetic
and talented stewardship of Geoff Stevens. Celebrate his achievement. Read the poems.
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| reviewer: Will Daunt. | ||
| Purple Patch #100 supplement | ||
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This supplement is subtitled how it went 1976 to 2001 and is a potted history of the magazine. It doubles also, to some extent, as a biography of the editor Geoff Stevens, who quite candidly reveals elements of his personal life as they interweave with the story of magazine. His interest in writing began in 1968 and his chief concern was with the history of the Black Country. It was not until 1976 that he actively turned his attention to poetry. Brief details are given of the people how have contributed to every single issue. Along the way, mention is made of some of the offshoots of the magazine such as Micropress Midlands Poetry and the ill-fated FAIM - Federation for the Advancement of Independent Magazines. The back-cover carries a list of the 15 poets most published in the magazine, headed by the prolific Michael Newman with nearly twice as many poems as second-placed Maureen Weldon. For everyone with an interest in the history of small presses in the UK, this supplement is a must-have. | ||
| reviewer: Gerald England. |