Product Description

'This is not a play. This is a poem in several registers, set at night on the Severn Estuary. Its subject is moonrise, which happens five times in five different forms: new moon, half moon, full moon, no moon and moon reborn. Various characters, some living, some dead, all based on real people from the Severn catchment, talk towards the moment of moonrise and are changed by it. The poem, which was written for the 2009 festival of the Severn, aims to record what happens when the moon moves over us - its effect on water and its effect on voices' - Alice Oswald, "A Sleepwalk on the Severn" is a poem for several voices, set at night on the Severn Estuary. Its subject is moonrise, which happens five times in five different forms: new moon, half moon, full moon, no moon and moon reborn. Various characters, some living, some dead - all based on real people from the Severn catchment - talk towards the moment of moonrise and are changed by it. Commissioned for the 2009 festival of the Severn, Alice Oswald's breathtakingly original new work aims to record what happens when the moon moves over the sublunary world: its effect on water and its effect on language.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1418 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 48 pages

About the Author
Alice Oswald lives in Devon and is married with three children. Dart, her second collection, won the T. S. Eliot Prize in 2002. Her most recent collection, Woods etc, is a Poetry Book Society Choice and was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection and the T. S. Eliot Prize.

Customer Reviews

Breathtaking, spellbinding. . .
A Sleepwalk on the Severn

Blimey ! Last year I had the pleasure to be impressed and delighted by Alice Oswald's long poem DART, and wondered as a consequence of that whether she would write anything finer. I'm not going to set the Dart collection up in a serious competition with the Severn book except to say that both are wonderful ; beautiful writing abounds. And it's not surface beauty either, but deeply-felt and deeply-experienced.

A SLEEPWALK ON THE SEVERN may seem paltry at only 48 pages (I thought rather fewer, even) but it explores much in a variety of voices : the wind speaks, the moon in her various guises and moods speaks, there are voices of the living and voices of the dead. The imagery is marvellously fresh and never cliched ; the moon and her moods must be one of the most potent cliches around, yet Oswald explores both moon and moods anew. I could quote any number of striking phrases, lines, verses here but the real joy is in the accumulative effect.

Alice Oswald just seems to be writing like no-one else right now. She's not showy, and she's never pretentious ; she dives right down into the depths and emerges with jewels.

A Travelog with Style
What a brilliant poem! By linking sections of the tale to each phase of the moon, Alice Oswald takes you on journeys along the River Severn. Keep re-reading it - each time you will find a new character, a different story, or a fresh picture of river life. It's short enough to read in one go, but long enough to last you through a bus journey! This is more than a poem - it's a reflection of the river from different viewpoints. If you're not sure if poetry is your thing gives this a try - I think it you may find that a poem can spark off feelings and ideas in your head you didn't know you had in you. In fact, I loved it so much I keep a copy in my handbag now - just in case I feel like cheering myself up