V. and Other Poems

by Tony Harrison

Book Overview

Tony Harrison's v. was written during the Miners' Strike of 1984-85 when he visited his parents' grave in a Leeds cemetery and found it vandalised by obscene graffiti. In the book-length poem, he... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374522731
• ISBN13: 9780374522735
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: Noonday Press
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Wonderful contemporary poems in traditional forms

Harrison's niche is combining contemporary language (including obscenities and slang) with traditional poetic forms. Working class Leeds meets classicism. Harrison does this beautifully, his many fine moments well outweighing his occasional metrical or rhyme difficulties. The long title poem is a painful meditation on the speaker's self and heritage occasioned by finding his parents'gravestones defaced by obscene graffiti. Other poems extent and enrich Harrison's reflections on his working class background and painful relationship with his father. There are other powerful, moving and memorable poems in this slim volume which, dear reader, you should have if you enjoy traditional forms and devices, all in the service of a keen mind and open heart. And hunt down his Selected Poems while it's still in print.