Monday 1 June 2015

Poetry Book Review: The Chatter of Crows

I recently re-read David Bingham's The Chatter of Crows.
It was published by Offa's Press  in late 2014. They say don't judge a book by its cover but boy this book has a very beautiful illustration that can definitely capture your attention and make you curious about its content.




The Chatter of Crows


The book has 66 pages and the poems range from free verse to Japanese-inspired haibun and haiku. And this is what I like about this book - it gives me a West meets East kind of feeling.

Also I like David's use of vivid imagery and playful tone in his poems. A friend of mine who also read the book was captured by how a poem 'let the readers fill the gap themselves'.

For me, the poems also leave you reflective about them. Also, having been born in the Philippines, I normally find it difficult to get British humour, but surprisingly, I can totally appreciate the humour in some of the poems in this collection.

Offa's Press likes poems which are 'good on the page and good on the stage' and I think David managed to deliver that. If you want to see for yourself, attend some of his readings this summer:

June 2 - he will be reading at The Works Canteen, Black Country Museum, Dudley (7:30 pm)

June 12 -  he is taking part in an open mic reading at The Pottery, Old Chapel House, Much Wenlock, TF13 6HT (7:30 pm)

You can also order this book from Offa's Press' website, Amazon & Waterstones (though Waterstones may take up to 3 weeks to get the book for you)

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