New and Selected Poems

by Paul Sutherland

'Chide the nervous feet and walk straight in.'

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Paul Sutherland has been writing and publishing poetry since 1970, with ten collections to his name. This monumental new book includes significant pieces from that period, along with new and unpublished works, constituting a personal epic that spans four and a half decades of writing.

It charts the poet’s life from his Canadian roots to immigration to the UK, from agnosticism to Christianity to Sufi Islam, and from natural wonderment to a greater understanding of the world around us. The collection is in turn heartfelt, philosophical, and beautifully lyrical, as Sutherland lays bare for the reader his experiences and perspectives – at once particular and universal. Completely unique, this is an unflinching and forensic exploration of a life lived through language.

‘This is serious poetry, often reflecting on the frailties of close relationships, yet in his quest to define these fragilities Sutherland shows us his strength not only of character but of his lyrical writing quality. Highly recommended.’
— Antony Owen, Morning Star

‘[Paul Sutherland] makes a poetry of contradiction: psychological and intellectual inquiry are matched by a ready emotional depth; epic and intimate scales overlap; it’s homeless and historically rooted; free and exact.’
— Ian Duhig

‘Haunting, elegant and deeply spiritual, a rare treat, full of imagery, pathos, loss, humour and triumph, somewhere between music and prose.’
— Magdalena Chavez

‘A splendidly sustained contemplative quality.’
— Sam Gardiner

‘This is a superb sequence of poems. They have wonderful economy and stillness.’
— Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, on ‘Holy Week Sequence’

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Paul Sutherland was born in Ontario, Canada, in 1947, and arrived in the UK in 1973. He was the founder of Dream Catcher, an international literary journal, and his own writing has appeared in countless anthologies, newspapers and periodicals.

Paul has published eight collections of his poetry since 1970, including Seven Earth Odes (Endpapers Press, 2004) and Spires and Minarets (Sunk Island, 2010). His eighth collection, Journeying, was published by Valley Press in 2012, then again in a second edition in October 2020. A monumental New and Selected Poems, also from Valley Press, including highlights from forty-five years of writing, was released in November 2017.

He has an MA in English Literature from the University of York, and became both a Sufi Muslim and a freelance writer in 2004. He lives with his wife in Lincolnshire.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Edition: Paperback

Date Published: 2017-11-01

ISBN: 9781908853776

Catalogue Number: VP0094

Number of Pages: 384

Cover design by Fitzpatrick Design

Cover photo by Abigail Smith

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