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Snakes on a Pate
Nov. 27th, 2024 11:19 amSneyd, Steve, ed., 2005, Medusa, a poetry anthology, Hilltop Press, 4 Nowell Place, Almondbury, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire HD5 8PB England, ISBN 0 905262 37 9, £3.99/$9, checks payable to S. Sneyd. Saddle stitched 58 pages + card stock cover.
Steve Sneyd is well-known for his scholarship concerning genre poetry and for his distinctive writing style. This is by no means the first book he has edited, but you rarely see an anthology of poetry with such a specific theme. Perhaps only Steve could get away with that. "Medusa" is remarkably diverse, attesting both to the fascination that the Medusa legend holds for writers and to the ambiguity of the legend itself, which gives free rein for experimentation in quite a few directions.
The book is divided into 6 sections. The first, UK Poets, accounts for a little more than half of the book. The remainder consists of Overseas Poets, Notes, Contributor Data, Medusa in Poetry, and The Medusa Legend. The notes were quite fascinating and I found the brief summary of the legend comprehensive. Every part of this book belongs. Nine of the poems in this book were previously published, but that leaves 33 new in this publication. I particularly like the graphic image of Medusa on the cover, which is by Andy Cocker. Nearly 2 dozen small, stark images are scattered strategically through the book. Disclaimer: one of the poems in this book is by me.
What if Medusa did not understand her power? In "Medusa" by a. f. harrold, we encounter this
_Sometimes I hear movement -- the shifting aside of grass or
the pricking of thorn -- but when I investigate I find there
nothing but stonework and then chill night envelops me._
This book explores many viewpoints and possibilities. From "Medusa's Legacy," by John Light
_"It smiled at me,
the statue smiled."_
From “Auto da fe” by Susie Reynolds:
_At the trial Medusa was examined
Lost in coils they analyse
"Snakes = Lost Eden"
Her golden body, tossed_
Oh my God, buy this book! If you're like me you will not care for every poem in this anthology, but the aggregate is like a composite photograph. Stand close to the picture and you see a myriad of individual small photographs, which may be quite unlike one another. Step back far enough and you see the Medusa, emerging as the product of a subtle reaction among her multifarious parts.
Steve Sneyd is well-known for his scholarship concerning genre poetry and for his distinctive writing style. This is by no means the first book he has edited, but you rarely see an anthology of poetry with such a specific theme. Perhaps only Steve could get away with that. "Medusa" is remarkably diverse, attesting both to the fascination that the Medusa legend holds for writers and to the ambiguity of the legend itself, which gives free rein for experimentation in quite a few directions.
The book is divided into 6 sections. The first, UK Poets, accounts for a little more than half of the book. The remainder consists of Overseas Poets, Notes, Contributor Data, Medusa in Poetry, and The Medusa Legend. The notes were quite fascinating and I found the brief summary of the legend comprehensive. Every part of this book belongs. Nine of the poems in this book were previously published, but that leaves 33 new in this publication. I particularly like the graphic image of Medusa on the cover, which is by Andy Cocker. Nearly 2 dozen small, stark images are scattered strategically through the book. Disclaimer: one of the poems in this book is by me.
What if Medusa did not understand her power? In "Medusa" by a. f. harrold, we encounter this
_Sometimes I hear movement -- the shifting aside of grass or
the pricking of thorn -- but when I investigate I find there
nothing but stonework and then chill night envelops me._
This book explores many viewpoints and possibilities. From "Medusa's Legacy," by John Light
_"It smiled at me,
the statue smiled."_
From “Auto da fe” by Susie Reynolds:
_At the trial Medusa was examined
Lost in coils they analyse
"Snakes = Lost Eden"
Her golden body, tossed_
Oh my God, buy this book! If you're like me you will not care for every poem in this anthology, but the aggregate is like a composite photograph. Stand close to the picture and you see a myriad of individual small photographs, which may be quite unlike one another. Step back far enough and you see the Medusa, emerging as the product of a subtle reaction among her multifarious parts.
