Books published by Gometra

One morning after breakfast, when the sun shone bright, we walked out together, and 'pored' for some time with placid indolence upon an artificial water-fall, which Dr. Taylor had made by building a strong dyke of stone across the river behind the garden. It was now somewhat obstructed by branches of trees and other rubbish, which had come down the river, and settled close to it. Johnson, partly from a desire to see it play more freely, and partly from that inclination to activity which will animate, at times, the most inert and sluggish mortal, took a long pole which was lying on a bank, and pushed down several parcels of this wreck with painful assiduity, while I stood quietly by, wondering to behold the sage thus curiously employed, and smiling with an humorous satisfaction each time when he carried his point. He worked till he was quite out of breath; and having found a large dead cat so heavy that he could not move it after several efforts, 'Come,' said he, (throwing down the pole,) 'you shall take it now;' which I accordingly did, and being a fresh man, soon made the cat tumble over the cascade. This may be laughed at as too trifling to record; but it is a small characteristick trait in the Flemish picture which I give of my friend, and in which, therefore, I mark the most minute particulars. (James Boswell, The Life of Samuel Johnson, LLD, 1791.)

'In the form itself, of short texts in lines, I believe absolutely. Despite its serious footprint being for now close to zero, it can never lose its inherent claim, it's one of the central expressive forms. I will never regret my life-long being stuck in it. I noted many years ago that I had 'yet to emerge into an area itself submerged …' - Sebastian Schloessingk (from the preamble to a recent reading).Cry of the No-no is his first substantial emergence and consists largely of work from the last fifteen years.There was, though, an early selection published by Piccolo, This Sloped Land (which the author does not stand by). He has appeared in Verse, Oxford Poetry, Formafluens, Dedalus, Quadrant (several times), and elsewhere. He also wrote the libretto for Magma, an opera by Lamberto Coccioli. And he's the editor of Qualm, founded in 2003 (which presents previously unpublished poems, and includes contributions from Les Murray, Jamie McKendrick, Peter Reading, Kate Camp ...)Born in Britain, of German and Irish parents, he lives in the Welsh Marches. Jamie McKendrick: 'Schloessingk's poems all have an instantly recognizable and original voice. There's an appealing subtlety and variety of tone to them, and a syntax that mirrors the twists and turns of a very particular consciousness. They range widely over the material and the material itself is wide-ranging.' Terese Svoboda: 'Really, really loved the potatoes.' Don Paterson: 'Poems full of terrific things.' Les Murray (on The Draw): 'Could be a goer.' Roc Sandford: 'Irresistible, consistent, crafty, chancing the rescue.'