New Selected Poems

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Encompassing more than 30 years worth of work, this poetry compilation explores the complexities of belonging in the world. While rooted in the rich particularity of industrial south Wales and the Welsh seaside resort, this collection's scope is global. Both lyrical and highly political, it mourns the ancient, savaged landscape of Iraq, listens to primeval echoes in the Welsh landscape, and celebrates the rhythms of the Americas. Including translations from six modern Welsh language poets, it demonstrates the interconnectedness of people and landscapes.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• from A Thread in the Maze (1978)
• Sap (p. 3)
• Short Wave (p. 4)
• A Live Tradition (p. 5)
• Garlic Mustard, from Herbals (p. 8)
• Dawn: Cwrt y Felin (p. 9)
• 1921: The Grandfather's Story (p. 10)
• from Native Ground (1979)
• Ways of Learning (p. 15)
• The Children (p. 15)
• J.P. (p. 16)
• Llangewydd (p. 17)
• The Drinking Art (p. 18)
• Insomnia (p. 19)
• Sker (p. 21)
• from Life Sentences (1983)
• Rhys (p. 25)
• Driving in Fog (p. 26)
• Catching My Breath (p. 27)
• An Address (p. 28)
• On the Headland (p. 29)
• Burmese Tales (p. 33)
• from The Dinosaur Park (1985)
• The Dinosaur Park (p. 37)
• On the Llyn Fawr Hoard in the National Museum of Wales (p. 38)
• Dock (p. 40)
• Eelers (p. 41)
• The Resort (p. 42)
• Picking (p. 46)
• from Breaking Down (p. 47)
• from The Looters (1989)
• The Looters (p. 53)
• 'What's the Point of Being Timid when the House is Falling Down?' (p. 55)
• The Mansion (p. 56)
• Epilogue (p. 57)
• from Fairground Music (p. 59)
• Men (p. 61)
• In the Watchtower (p. 62)
• Looking for Arthur (p. 64)
• from Hey Fatman (1994)
• Homework (p. 67)
• Daisy at the Court (p. 68)
• A History of Dunraven (p. 69)
• Hey Fatman (p. 74)
• Reunion Street (p. 77)
• Listening to History (p. 79)
• The Swimming Lesson (p. 80)
• from After the Hurricane (2002)
• The Bombing of Baghdad as seen from an Electrical Goods Shop (p. 89)
• Twenty-Five Laments for Iraq (p. 90)
• The Discovery of Radioactivity (p. 95)
• Carioca (p. 96)
• Songs for the Lugmen (p. 97)
• She Drove a 'Seventies Plymouth (p. 101)
• Neolithic (p. 102)
• The Porthcawl Preludes (p. 103)
• From the Rock Pool (p. 113)
• from The Adulterer's Tongue (2003)
• Belly Button Song (from 'Botwm i'r Botwm Bol' by Menna Elfyn) (p. 125)
• Taliesin (from 'Taliesin', by Emyr Lewis) (p. 126)
• Beginning to Forget (from 'Dechrau'r Anghofio', by Gwyneth Lewis) (p. 127)
• Landscape without a Hat (from 'Tirlun heb Het' by Bobi Jones) (p. 128)
• A Song about Soup (from 'Cawl', by Elin ap Hywel) (p. 129)
• Automobiles (from 'Ceir', by Iwan Llwyd) (p. 130)
• from King Driftwood (2008)
• An Opera in Baghdad (p. 133)
• The Hourglass (p. 141)
• La Otra Orilla (p. 151)
• Eavesdropping (p. 161)
• The Castaway (p. 162)
• The Saint of Tusker Rock (p. 168)
• The Fox in the National Museum of Wales (p. 184)
• Index of Tides and First Lines (p. 186)