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What is being
said about "LARKHILL"
Bill Westron, Western Magazine
"A stunning collection"
Martyn Halsall, Poetry Editor, Third Way. writes
"Jim Bennett is a generous poet and this collection is a small
library of open-
hearted experiences. Larkhill summarises the work of a writer
who observes
closely, and translates what he sees and feels into responses
that engage,
amuse and extend our perceptions. Pithy, wry, witty and wise,
this is poetry
that embraces our world in all its paradoxical potential.
Revelations are
seasoned with questions; a nod at the familiar with a
recognition of pain
behind a brave smile. This magnetic poetry often contests the
expected, by
working from a broad canvas to a telling detail, like a three
legged newt, a
squashed fly, or a staple’s rust-print on old papers. There is
the constant
delight of acute observation: ‘clambering clouds’, or birds that
are ‘just a flash
of pepper’ in sunlight. Such detail re-opens expansive topics,
summoning our
re-appraisal. Children, sieving gravel for bullets, summarise
the aftermath of
war. An older couple, with their comfortable fantasies about
literature and fine
art, offer a deep reading about love and imagination. So, smile
at the clown in
the workplace, mourn with the bereaved mother, pause by the
charred books
and investigate the detective’s post-script. Jim Bennett writes
of ‘the new
world’, and also presents one, in all its intriguing promise."
Thomas Graham-Land editor Alsatia Review writes;
"I was pleased to see a new book of poetry from Jim Bennett, it
is always an
event and as usual full of unexpected twists and turns. There is
an emotional
edge to his work which never crosses over into the melodramatic
but holds its
line and takes the reader to unexpected highs and lows. Jim is
an exceptional
writer, one of the few of his generation to carry the torch of
poetry through
the wild lands of free verse and the abandonment of form and
punctuation to
show what can be achieved with words and lineation. This is a
collection
which shows all his strengths. Perhaps the greatest of which is
his ability to
see the unique and wonderful in the mundane and ordinary. I
recommend this
collection without reservation."
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Recent interviews
with Jim Bennett
http://www.sentinelpoetry.org.uk/slq2.1/jim_bennett.htm
http://www.poetrykit.org/iv00/bennett.htm
http://www.poetrykit.org/pkmag/pkmag7/031.htm
What was said about "Down in Liverpool"
Hear Jim Bennett read some
of his best work on this fine studio album from
Long Neck Media. With a selection of songs and
poetry covering thirty years of an amazing
creative output. This is the definitive Jim
Bennett collection.
"...an authentic voice bringing the sound of
beat to Liverpool" -Trax
"Jim Bennett is
very much of that generation of Liverpool poets
who adopted the directness and spontaneity of
American beat writing and adapted it into a
peculiarly English - and Liverpudlian - mode of
expression."
- David
Bateman, Transparent Words
"One of Jim’s
great strengths is his range. He reads a poem
which naughty boys all over the world would
repeat with glee ... and follows it with poems
bearing his soul, peeling off layer after layer
of feeling." - Bill Melrose, Merseyside Arts.
"Jim is an experience, a really good life
affirming experience." - John Ball, Nightshade
"The best performance
poet in Liverpool" he certainly is, in fact
he is one of the best in the country, "
"a genius who creates
unforgettable experience for the audience but
does it in a quiet and unassuming way."
"the very best of the
Liverpool Poets"
"he has to be
experienced."
""Liverpool
Is"... is unashamedly an anthem for a great
city written by someone who clearly loves
Liverpool and who has the talent to express that
love in a poem. "
"..beautiful
poems read perfectly by a great poet,
who could ask for
more."
Merseyside Arts Monthly
"A not to be missed
event. Jim's poetry and songs are witty, funny
and thought provoking." Ham
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