Poetry

Handbook for the Diamond Country

Collected Shorter Poems 1960-1990

The Book

1990

Poetry
17.15 x 22.23 cm
192 pages
Hardcover
ISBN10: 978-1851582846
Mainstream Publishing, Edinburgh.

Preface

These poems were written around the world, from Scotland out.

The earliest are from The Cold Wind of Dawn (London, 1966) and The most Difficult Area (London, 1968). Thereafter, they come from the French bilingual volume Terre de Diamant (Paris, 1983). And there are quite a few hitherto uncollected.

In his free meditation on a phrase from Heraclitus, Heidegger says this: “It is long, the road that is most necessary for our thought. It leads to that simplicity which is what must be thought of under the name of logos. There are still very few signs around to show us this road.”

What I’m presenting here are maybe a few signs arising from one body-mind attempt to follow that road.

To the poems themselves I’ve added notes (indicated in the text by asterisks). By no mean exhaustive, they are just to give a few discreet pointers. As well as providing information, they show the underlying philosophical-meditative line, which might not otherwise be evident. I wouldn’t want it to be obvious, but one should know it’s there. It’s the string that keeps the necklet together.

Kenneth White

North Coast of Brittany

January 1990