The Long Beds

A Poetry Book Society Autumn 2020 Recommendation.

The Long Beds explores the cell-like containment of the small hours when the body has no estate but its bed, while - waking or dreaming - the mind sets out on its travels, often in the realms of an old life, cherished items or relinquished connections. Central to the poems' imagery is the presence of a bedstead that has survived a bombing raid, protecting only what was bundled underneath it. In painterly language Kate Miller also trains her eye and ear outwards on grand, impersonal scenes: London at dawn, riverbanks and docks, the corridors of a great hospital: to uncover fogged experience and restore colour to memory. Her poems prod us awake at first light and release us into the morning.

Subjects: Literature

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This title is available in the following collections: Carcanet Collection  

  • Author: Kate Miller
  • Publisher: Carcanet
  • ISBN: 9781784109677