{"id":3918,"date":"2017-11-15T10:07:30","date_gmt":"2017-11-15T10:07:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.larkreviews.co.uk\/?p=3918"},"modified":"2017-11-15T10:08:51","modified_gmt":"2017-11-15T10:08:51","slug":"looking-down-both-barrels-with-adrian-manning-john-d-robinson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/?p=3918","title":{"rendered":"LOOKING DOWN BOTH BARRELS with Adrian Manning & John D Robinson"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a9 Adrian Manning 2017<\/h6>\n
\u00a9 John D Robinson 2017<\/h6>\n
\u00a9 Janne Karlsson \u00a0Cover Art 2017<\/h6>\n
ISBN: <\/strong>978-0-9932068-6-3<\/strong><\/h6>\n
Published by John D Robinson: Holy&intoxicated Publications: UK;<\/strong><\/h6>\n

There are times when this new collection of poems from Adrian Manning and John D Robinson makes for difficult reading, for it is honest – and confrontational in its honesty. Many of the poems reflect loss and the contemplation of failure, but equally the overriding necessity to wrestle with the depths we find ourselves in and to rise above them.<\/p>\n

As such it is ultimately optimistic in the face of potential despair. AND FAHRENHEIT 451 EVENS THE SCORE <\/em>and THE BLANK PAGE<\/em> (pasted below) sum up the approach to the eternal problem of being driven to write yet always facing the reality of trying always to write something worth saying.<\/p>\n

The two writers complement each other and as such the collection makes for a highly satisfying whole.<\/p>\n

Poet Rob Plath in an end note says Each poem is truth drilled into the page. Highly recommended. <\/em>\u00a0A sentiment I would entirely endorse.<\/p>\n

BH<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

AND FAHRENHEIT 451 EVENS THE SCORE<\/strong><\/p>\n

i<\/strong>f you’re gonna<\/h6>\n
write a poem<\/h6>\n
write words<\/h6>\n
that will burn<\/h6>\n
words that will<\/h6>\n
burn<\/h6>\n
the paper they are<\/h6>\n
written on<\/h6>\n
the eyeballs<\/h6>\n
that read them<\/h6>\n
<\/h6>\n
and leave<\/h6>\n
nothing<\/h6>\n
but the message<\/h6>\n
scorched<\/h6>\n
into the<\/h6>\n
earth<\/h6>\n
and the<\/h6>\n
memory<\/h6>\n

 <\/p>\n

THE BLANK PAGE<\/strong><\/p>\n

t<\/strong>he\u00a0blank page lies
\nahead
\na sea of possibility
\nsometimes a friend
\nsometimes the enemy
\nwho knows what will surface
\npale headed horses
\ngrinning wide
\nmouthed happiness
\nor dark ghosts
\ntreading the waters
\nof fear
\nlimited days
\nand time
\nwill
\ntell<\/p>\n

AFTER RAY BREMSER<\/strong><\/p>\n

I <\/strong>choose not to socialise, I<\/h6>\n
have always felt awkward<\/h6>\n
and increasingly<\/h6>\n
uncomfortable in such<\/h6>\n
situations: I stay away<\/h6>\n
from the bars and<\/h6>\n
parties and refuse<\/h6>\n
every invitation: I lead a<\/h6>\n
quiet life now and I<\/h6>\n
think of the words of the<\/h6>\n
armed robber and poet,<\/h6>\n
Ray Bremser<\/h6>\n
when asked if he had<\/h6>\n
any grandchildren:<\/h6>\n
\u2018I don\u2019t know, I don\u2019t<\/h6>\n
want to know, don\u2019t<\/h6>\n
want no more pain\u2019<\/h6>\n
fucking right, keep the<\/h6>\n
people at a distance<\/h6>\n
because for sure, only<\/h6>\n
hurt can come of it.<\/h6>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a9 Adrian Manning 2017 \u00a9 John D Robinson 2017 \u00a9 Janne Karlsson \u00a0Cover Art 2017 ISBN: 978-0-9932068-6-3 Published by John D Robinson: Holy&intoxicated Publications: UK; There are times when this new collection of poems from Adrian Manning and John … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3918"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3918"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3922,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3918\/revisions\/3922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}