Sleeping on Islands : A Life in Poetry-9780571375295

Sleeping on Islands : A Life in Poetry

£20.00 GBP
£20.00 GBP
Andrew Motion has been close to the centres of British poetry for over...
show more
Subtotal: £20.00

Guaranteed safe and secure checkout

Andrew Motion has been close to the centres of British poetry for over fifty years. Sleeping on Islands is his clear-sighted and open-hearted account of this remarkable career. It takes us from scenes of a teenage home-life coloured by tragedy and silence - where writing was as much a refuge as an assertion - to the excruciations of early public appearances, to the decade he spent as Poet Laureate, promoting and ensuring the central place of poetry in a nation's character. Along the way, we hear about the risks and sacrifices involved, as well as the difficulties of sustaining a commitment to writing within a helix of other obligations. We see in close-up the significance of Motion's formative relationship with W. H. Auden and his subsequent friendship with Philip Larkin. And during his time as Laureate, we witness memorable encounters with Royalty and Prime Ministers, and discover the costs and complications that accompany such a high-profile role. By turns moving and humorous, this is the intimate story of a rare poetic life. And it proves Motion's contention that the poems we most enjoy 'are not weird visitations, or ornaments stuck on the surface of life, but part of life's daily bread'.

Product Information:

Book ISBN: 9780571375295
Book Author: Sir Andrew Motion
Book Format: Hardback
Book Imprint: Faber & Faber
Book Publisher: Faber & Faber
Book Dimensions: 197 x 131 x 23 cm
Book Publication Date: 2023-05-18
Book Pagination: 320 pages
Book Weight: 526g

Sherlock & Pages is a little bookshop with a big heart. We are based in Frome, Somerset, England and curate lists of books in the areas we are passionate about – landscape, nature, history, and heritage. In short, the conservation of all we’ve inherited and all we are responsible to pass on. We aim to inspire and be inspired, to form a literary culture of care and passion about this precious planet we call home.

This is a shop where you might find something you haven’t seen before, and we like to think we’ve got something for everyone. We choose each of our books with care and for a reason. This is because our physical store is small but beautifully formed, holding only around 1200 titles at any one time. We try and recreate the feel of the shop wherever we are online, to reflect our niche categories and personality.

We have an active social media presence and aim to share our story with all our friends. The long-term goal is to build a hub for the books and writers we believe in. Who knows where our adventure will lead but by supporting Sherlock & Pages you’re helping us to add a further layer of magic to our little corner of the world. If you haven’t visited our physical store, one day you might just make a literary pilgrimage down to Somerset.

Our tagline is ‘Long Live the Hedgerows’ and our symbol a hibernating dormouse. If you want to support an independent with a unique character and which will share stories with you for years to come, then choose Sherlock & Pages. The world needs bookshops with soul, for they are ‘citadels of light.’

You may also like