Genesis

In Genesis John Powell Ward develops the distinctive style that made 1993''s A Certain Marvellous Thing the recipient of rapturous reviews. A highly wrought and polished technique that places emphasis on the letters of the alphabet in the construction of stanza patterns and rhymes contrasts with emotive and topical themes. Poems like ''Once'' and ''Nature'' not only record the beauties of landscape, but question our fraught relations with the environment. Time, its potential and its depredations are continuing themes. There are several moving elegies to various friends and loved ones and even for a heroic stranger in the news: ''Elegy for the Plank Man''. Though the subject matter is sometimes dark, this poet''s abundant energy, optimism and compassion shines through. Readers will be delighted by an innovative and thought-provoking new collection of poetry.John Powell Ward was born in Suffolk and educated at the Universities of Toronto, Cambridge and Wales. Editor of Poetry Wales from 1975 to 1980, he is the author of critical works on Wordsworth and R.S. Thomas among others, and editor of the Border Lines series. He has also published several volumes of poetry.