Review: Zoology

Zoology by Gillian Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Zoology is a collection of poems that is deeply rooted in the countryside and the seasons. Beginning with Missing, there are mini collections of poems on Hafod Y Llan, museums and other taken from over the course of a year. The collection ends with an eulogy to a variety of friends and fellow poets. Particular favourites include Last Gather, Silent and River.

After frozen ground, a loosening / After silence, birdsong, a beginning / Earth’s skin pricks with growth

This is the second of Gillian Clarke’s poetry collections that I have read in as many weeks, having been recommended to me by a and artist on twitter. She draws deep from her childhood and the natural world to form the words, there are themes that run back and forwards throughout the book. For some, this might be repetitive, but I liked the way that it reinforces the way that the seasons repeat without fail every year. I think this was even better than Five Fields.

Maybe good men will again come to power, truth speak / And words have meaning again

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