Selected Poems by John Fowles

John Fowles was known to have written poetry throughout his life but only had one book of his own poems published in his life time, aptly if not originally named Poems.

Since his death in 2005, however, his wife, Sarah Fowles, came across some unpublished poems of his when going through his belongings. She passed them on to British poet, novelist and playwright, Adam Thorpe, who meticulously went through all Fowles' writings to put together a brand new collection with a far more exciting title, Selected Poems. The poems are said to span a staggering number of years, from the 1950s through to Fowles times in hospital nearer the end of his life.

Sarcasm aside, Fowles is known to be a great poet and I'm sure this collection won't disappoint. Rather pleasingly, the collection is to be published by a very small publisher, Flambard Press, and will include an introduction from Thorpe himself.

As a big fan of his novel, The Magus, I'm particularly excited (*geek*) to hear that the collection includes poems, such as his Apollo sequence, that were inspired by his time on Spetsai - the Greek island that became Phraxos in The Magus. Thorpe has said that any Magus fans will notice the same setting and quality in these poems.

Oooo I'm feeling all Magus-y now, so there may be a book review tomorrow... until then, have a look at my earlier post on Fowles in general.

Introducing... John Fowles