Peter Bennet's new collection unites skilful random rhyme and lightly handled traditional forms with characteristic imaginative power and dark humour. The poems combine an unusually braod range of reference with surprising intimacy, not least in the intricate sequence 'Folly Wood', which takes as a starting point the Twelve Gates of the English alchemist George Ripley.
The Glass Swarm confirms Bennet's growing reputation as one of the most engaging poets writing today.
"Peter Bennet's poetry is profoundly English in an era where that term seems to have suffered a crisis of identity or perhaps even memory loss. He is the opposite of a modish voice, and is therefore all the more to be savoured." — Kate Clanchy and W N Herbert
Peter Bennet lives in Northumberland near the Wild Hills o' Wanney. He was Associate Editor of Stand from 1995 to 1998, and is co-editor of Other Poetry. He received a Poetry Book Society Recommendation in 2005 for Goblin Lawn.
"The Glass Swarm is a collection that strikes a remarkable relationship with history, commanding it with ease. From a sketch of Browning in the Black Country to Hopkins admiring the glaciers of Grindelwald, each scene is peculiar and fascinating, and history becomes at once exciting and malign." -
Helen Mort, Poetry London
"Bennet has a natural talent for the Browningesque dramatic monologue." - Nicholas Mui, Poetry Salzburg Review
The Glass Swarm confirms Bennet's growing reputation as one of the most engaging poets writing today.
"Peter Bennet's poetry is profoundly English in an era where that term seems to have suffered a crisis of identity or perhaps even memory loss. He is the opposite of a modish voice, and is therefore all the more to be savoured." — Kate Clanchy and W N Herbert
Peter Bennet lives in Northumberland near the Wild Hills o' Wanney. He was Associate Editor of Stand from 1995 to 1998, and is co-editor of Other Poetry. He received a Poetry Book Society Recommendation in 2005 for Goblin Lawn.
"The Glass Swarm is a collection that strikes a remarkable relationship with history, commanding it with ease. From a sketch of Browning in the Black Country to Hopkins admiring the glaciers of Grindelwald, each scene is peculiar and fascinating, and history becomes at once exciting and malign." -
Helen Mort, Poetry London
"Bennet has a natural talent for the Browningesque dramatic monologue." - Nicholas Mui, Poetry Salzburg Review