Strandloop

Paperback. English. Echoing Green Press. 2016. NEW. An excerpt from a longer commentary by the editor, Nigel Bell: '[...] as one reads the conviction grows ever stronger that one has in one's hands the work of a major poet [...] like Wordsworth, [Norman] sees the significance for our own lives in the life of nature, in all its forms - the hills, mountains and streams around his home, creatures of all kinds, whether humble, like the crab he saw 'Playing with a bright green leaf / Eddying by his rock', or noble, like the old eland cow, which stared fearlessly at him as if to put him in his trivial human place. But Norman's profound empathy (his most impressive quality) extends to people, known or unknown, present or past - his father, his children, his wife, a beachcomber, a little Bushman, graceful backed / Carefully laying visions on living rock - / Fine-wrought windows on Eternity / Left like lark eggs on the veld.' For Norman, as for Blake, 'Everything that lives is holy' - a manifestation, finally, of that fourth, spiritual dimension of our lives, that he is plainly aware of, but with no unnatural piety. In the end, what counts for Norman, as it does for all great poets, is love.' Other responses to the book: 'Norman Morrissey's long overdue collection, Strandloop, is a substantial one. Nuanced, crafted, deeply moving, thought-provoking, philosophical, human, humorous, generous, self-reflexive: these are just some of the words which come to mind when attempting to talk about the poems, poems which are frequently startling in their imagery and in the places they go [.] Selected from more than three decades of writing, the collection is a treasure trove of delights that rewards repeated reading.' - Eduard Burle 'I must say that I am enjoying very much reading a handful of Norm's poems every evening, they are generally wonderfully accessible to a ‘lay man' like myself.' - Chris James 'I've read nearly all of the poems and must say that I have seldom encountered lines that touch me more deeply.' - Jeff Robinson 'I read from Strandloop every other day. It is a great collection of some wonderful poems, all with the consistent, probing voice of the poet.' - Rick Andrew 'I think many people, in particular growing up in South Africa, will find the book real to the country and their lives.' - Rowena Lile Norman's poem, ‘Lord of Life' has brought home to me for the first time in decades, I think, how much one loses by leaving South Africa. Norman has been put through the mill of suffering, virtually a lifetime of depression. To crib a line from Campbell, he has 'taught his gorgon destinies to sing.' - Dave Potter