Z D DICKS - Poetry Publications
Intimate Nature
Book Launched 30th September 7.00pm at The Fountain Inn, Eastgate Street, Gloucester
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‘In Intimate Nature, Z D Dicks hops the border between the human and the animal, exploring the increasingly fraught coexistence of civilisation and non-human species, while offering us dark glimpses of our feral selves. Wolves, chimps, magpies, vipers and ants all teem through this energetic and vivid collection, populating an urban jungle where the poet ‘howls’ like a ‘dog on a chain’.’
- David Clarke
‘Poems that sizzle with electric energy, an unusual and unforgettable collection excavated from an excitable, surreal mind.’
- Jennie Farley
‘Potent, explosive poetry which crackles with electricity. Z Dicks displays a masterful handling of language and fuses a richly lyrical voice with innovative almost experimental syntax and form. At time there's such vivid earthy and timeless imagery it brings to mind Seamus Heaney.’
- Anna Saunders
‘Dicks’s poetry has the touch of the prophet about it. With an uncanny ability to look below the surface of our everyday world, this collection brings the reader uncomfortably, unsettlingly close to its sharp, hard edges. Twisting together the personal and the societal like brambles, it is impossible to know where the paths of these wonderful poems will lead: towards the broken, discordant chords of a ‘tangerine pink petrol dusk’ or with an expertly injected flash of lightness and humour. With its innovative use of spacing and challenging exploration of our natural world, this collection feels extremely necessary in our troubled times. It is a real must-read for all who question the distance we have put between ourselves and the spaces we live in, with writing that combines difficult questions with pleasure and light. In the words of the poet himself: ‘if he were here now, I’d pass him my banjo.’’
- Ben Ray
‘The poems in Intimate Nature explore what makes us human, and what is still firmly animal about us, and how those two extremes are almost always closer than we think in our everyday lives. With striking imagery and fluid language, the raw material on every page is polished into a poetic gem. One to read and re-read, this collection will give you a new perspective each time you pick it up.’
- Kate Garrett, poet & editor
Book Cover Design: Jason Conway - thedaydreamacademy.com
Malcontent
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“A startling and knife-sharp collection of poems by a poet who challenges our preconceptions of ‘page’ poetry. Fusing an adept handling of form with experimental inventiveness, a complex, rich vocabulary and potent, sometimes unsettling subject matter, this is a Red Bull of a read, stimulating and provocative. ”
“Evocative, atmospheric, breathing new life into the everyday, the things we know and see without seeing any more - Ziggy shows them to us afresh in flutters of words and images that build into intriguing tapestries of objects seen in new ways, of things felt keenly and of the business of living. ”
“Ziggy’s poetry will always come in from left field and surprise you, yet with the calm controlled competence of the craftsman. ”
“Ziggy is an inspirational figure in the Gloucester poetry scene and his unique style of wordplay is well worth the read. Uncompromising, sometimes controversial, but always entertaining, this collection is a worthy addition to anyone’s collection. ”
“The poems in this book are varied and ranging in their content, but tied together by the quality and intricacy of the writing. You will need to read this collection more than once, and you will enjoy it each time.”
“We are undeniably in deep waters here. The reader requires to take a deep breath before plunging in and then swimming steadily from start to finish of this collection.”
Book Cover Design: Jason Conway - thedaydreamacademy.com
Cover Picture - David Seed, Fine Artist
Image courtesy of Poetry Cafe Refreshed
Biography
Z D Dicks is the Founder of the Gloucestershire Poetry Society and Gloucester Poetry Festival. He holds an Ma in Creative and Critical Writing. His work is concerned with the everyday and of the very serious business of living. The poetry he writes has been described as Heaney-esque and is layered with rich imagery.
From January 2020 his focus will on his role as Poet Laureate for Gloucestershire and the continued development and running of the Gloucester Poetry Festival. From January 2020 the Lead Director of the Gloucestershire Poetry Society will be Josephine Lay.