Published to mark the 40th anniversary of his death, this comprehensive edition of the poetry of Mervyn Peake includes pieces that touch on some of the most significant historical moments of the 20th century. His celebrated works range from the unemployment epidemic in pre-war Britain to the horrors of the blitz and the concentration camp at Bergen–Belsen, with each serving to anchor the fantasy world of his celebrated Gormenghast books. Black and white illustrations, drafted by the author, accompany the verse, along with previously unpublished illustrations and photographs.
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The ongoing rediscovery of artist-writer Peake bestowed a wealth of previously unpublished artwork in the gathering of his short fiction Boy in Darkness and Other Stories (2008) and gives us more in this largest-to-date collection of his verse. What is most noteworthy here, though, is the publication of some 80 poems recovered from notebooks, the last of them dating from after the onset of the quickly debilitating parkinsonism that killed him. Together with his previously published poems, they confirm Peake as a conscientious craftsman widely read in his language’s poetic tradition. He wrote predominantly in regular forms and rhyme, the latter even when he adopted loose, variable forms. He wrote repeatedly about the practice and aspiration of the graphic artist; about World War II on the ground, most impressively in London and at Buchenwald, which he saw shortly after its liberation; about his love for Maeve, his wife; and about his conflicted consciousness as an artist and a deeply feeling, sympathetic man. This is magnificent poetry, often anguished, sometimes brilliantly fantastic, deeply affecting. --Ray Olson
Review
Strangeness is where we live, and Mervyn Peake threads its mazes under slant moons and dark stars, unwinding a clew for us to follow.Russell Hoban
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