 |
Be lapped
Or surrender to the silence.
Throw the dice.
Virtue is all."
With a prolific outpouring of words and ideas, Elliott explores a vast range of subject matter from the blank page a writer must face to the seasonal changes spring brings to the political injustice of the "old boys club." He tackles each subject with vibrancy, fresh insight, and an ear for the beats of language. The mood of the poems vary from the darkness of a lost soul to the hope that the simple knowledge of a new day brings, but each are characterized by human emotion and human experience. There is sensitivity in his words, his rhythm, and his interpretation of the world around him. These are the words of a man who looks and feels deeply, and they will resonate with the contemplative reader.
With more than 300 poems included in this collection, one can see the feverish need for expression in conjunction with the depth of the mind of the poet. The poems tend to be short and succinct, full of carefully chosen words and deceptively simple lines. For each line is a thoughtful execution of the artist's vision as shown in "Sectioned," a four line poem that ends with the verses "Lying women cover up female abuse. / The rights of man are dead." But mixed in with the serious are the silly like "Snoring for England," which imagines a man on a sofa drinking the dregs of wine and "feeing quite comfy." But this variation in subject matter only adds to the richness and complexity of the collection satisfying the tastes of even the most discerning of readers.