REVIEWS

Extracts from selected reviews.

RAVENS OF UNRESTING THOUGHT

‘An outstanding poet’ John R. Tapia, Vice Chancellor IAP Now

ATTEMPTS TO LOVE

‘A really major poetic talent in the making’ Orbis (Ed Baumgartner)

NO TURNING BACK

‘G.H. is the amanuensis for the exploited earth’ Poetry Review (Mary Gladstone)

THE WINDOW THAT CLOSES

‘High paints a profoundly moving portrait of saying goodbye to his mother. This collection is a chance to remember and to celebrate love.’ (Cherie Hunter Day)

‘A powerful evocation of the final few weeks in the life of the author’s mother. He achieves a positive and life-affirming experience by avoiding sentimentality and by writing from the perspective of a dispassionate observer.’ (David Bingham)

THE RANGE-FINDER’S FIELDGLASSES

‘His poetry is a delight – well crafted, with surprising twists, and an authority and authenticity which resonates throughout the collection and stays with the reader’  (Katherine Gallagher)

‘High’s sensibility is very much close-in, viscerally preoccupied with felt detail. His subject, ultimately, is what we perceive and how we experience that perception.’  (Mario Petrucci)

‘High is a poet who notices. These poems deconstruct the world with a deft touch – then recompose it with clarity.’  (Robert Seatter)

NOW

‘contemporary poetry at its best’ HQ Magazine (Kevin Bailey)

‘a gem of a read’ The Affectionate Punch (Andrew Tutty) 

‘exceptional imagery and a fine economy of words’ CPR International (Tom Lewis)

A SOCIAL WORKER’S GUIDE TO FUNGI

‘clever and thoughtful writing ... an unusual, even bizarre, read’ Zine (Andy Savage,)

UNDER THE EDGE OF THE HORIZON

Graham High is a prolific haiku poet, with four previous haiku collections. This one contains well over 100 haiku and once again demonstrates this poet’s originality of perception and careful observation of the natural world. Time (Ron Woollard) 

TOWING THE BREEZE

High has an admirable simplicity of style. I especially like the haiku where the poet is seen to empathise with, and become part of, his surroundings. Most impressive is the variety and luminosity of High’s visual conceptions. Blithe Spirit  (Michael Bangerter)

WOLF ON THE THIRD FLOOR

‘An exceptional collection of poems, each one a little gem in itself, but like a song cycle taking us on a journey... No review can do full justice to the high quality and absorbing content of this book. Like me you will want to read it again and again - for each time new pleasures will be discovered.’ Poetry Monthly (John S. Mercer)

‘Journeys especially are caught vividly, but there is also poignant social comment.‘Handshake (John Francis Haines) 

‘This is poetry of remarkable quality, enriched with metaphorical detail and assonant balance of word and phrase; cadence is appropriately linked to change of mood and situation. There is lyricism in Graham High's poetry, whether in rhyming stanzas or in those poems which adhere to no particular verse-form, and I most readily and unreservedly give this fine publication the thumbs-up. It is a truly commendable collection.’ Reach (Tony M. Jackson)

NEGATIVE/NOT NEGATIVE is one of the best poems in the booklet. Mr. High has a cold fascination with Russia as shown in some of these lines — The grey light seeps into one's bones, — The sky glares down like a constant question. — The comparison of rooks and stars is well observed, but the last three lines sum up the poem beautifully — …The Russians are a grey people,// living in the thin penumbra... — As a whole, WOLF ON THE THIRD FLOOR is an accomplished body of work, with certain lines that ring and echo in one's head. Each poem reveals a little more of itself at every reading. There is the added interest of Mr. High's introspective views of Russia — a land strange and forbidding to most of us. It is a startling collection on an unfamiliar theme. Pennine Ink (Laura Sheridan, Editor)

‘As fine a collection of work as I’ve seen. ‘WOLF ON THE THIRD FLOOR is an accomplished body of work, with certain lines that ring and echo in one's head. Each poem reveals a little more of itself at every reading. There is the added interest of Mr. High's introspective views of Russia — a land strange and forbidding to most of us. It is a startling collection on an unfamiliar theme.’ Pennine Ink (Laura Sheridan)

‘There is much beauty and intelligence in this poetry. There is a feel in some of the work of Osip Mandelstam and of that indefinable sense inadequately describable as a "Russian soul". The depth and subtlety in this collection is satisfying.’ Weyfarers (Stella Stocker)

‘Formidable poems .. High's work is honest, intelligent, and tender. He loves and is intimidated by the hard-bitten Russia he evokes so feelingly in these formidable poems.’  Iota Tony Grist

‘I enjoyed the leisurely pace and the stark uncluttered phrasing.’ Krax (Andy Robson)

‘lasts in the memory due to its highly polished language-music. High is quite capable of understanding a foreign consciousness, and rendering it in verse — not an easy task. I'll be on the lookout for more from Graham High in the future.’ Pulsar (Blair Ewing)

‘Beautifully produced as one would expect from NHI. ... Exceptional imagery and a fine economy of words ... A collection I'm happy to own.‘ CPR International (Tom Lewis)