Ian Burgham

REVIEWS of The Stone Skippers

“Ian Burgham’s collection, The Stone Skippers, is a rare volume: a book filled with generous emotion as well as craft and polish. What is said is as important as how it is said. Each line break, each simile, each rhythmic construct: all these things display both care and wisdom, and that’s a treasure.” Carolyn Smart (Canada), Poet and Finalist for the Canadian National Magazine Awards

There’s exceptionally thoughtful and complex writing here, writing that always seems willing to enter emotions with great courage and finesse. I admire the honesty. The poems are genuinely moving.” Barry Dempster (Canada), Poet, short-listed for the Governor General’s Award for Poetry and Winner of the Confederation Poetry Prize

The poems have a hardness and succinctness. This concision, leanness and directness brings out the emotion in them, the sense of distance and space and wind-sweep both emotional and imagistic, wonderfully well. There are poems that stay with one. There are many items of praise I could include, but just let me say, I think Burgham has written a good book, and good poems! Albert Moritz (Canada and the USA) finalist for the Governor General’s Award for Poetry, winner of The Guggenheim Fellowship, The Ingram Merrill Fellowship, The Award in Literature of the American Academy and Institute for Arts and Letters

“Hola! Here’s a gifted new poet, madly dashing his love-torn heart against the poetic stones of the universe. Impetuous, inspired, wild, unadorned, unrepentant, desperate, occasionally eloquent – this is a voice you don’t want to miss. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr Ian Burgham.” Di Brandt (Canada), Poet and winner of the Canadian Author’s Association National Poetry Award, winner and short-listed winner for the Governor General’s Award for Poetry and shortlist winner of the Griffin Prize for Excellence in Poetry

“Here is a writer capable of great subtlety, fusing the turning point moment of short story, depth and length of novel, ‘in-breath’ of exalted verse. Use of form, poetic device, economy and choice of language, blurring of fancy and fiction – all are employed with intelligence and readerly insight. Burgham demonstrates the dancing quality and length of well crafted poetry…The poems are to be savoured, lingered over, allowed to resonate and be remembered. Strongly recommended!” Five Bells Review, Australian Union of Poets, Kevin Gillam, winner, the Karrinyup and Woorilla Poetry Prizes (Australia)

“I feel a great sense of discovery. These poems mark the emergence of a mature and distinctive poetic voice. The language is sure and elegant; most importantly it is infused with a quiet musicality that is a rare and remarkable gift. This is the work of one who has the ear for the possibilities of language....” Alexander McCall Smith (U.K.), Author “The Number One Ladies Detective Agency” series, and winner of the 2004 British Book Awards, 2004, Author of the Year

The StoneSkippers is a wonderful collection that needs to be read over and over again. I often judge the worth of poems by my own willingness to return to a book. I enjoy a wide range of poetry and poets but there are only a few books that I keep close so that I can re-read them when I need them. And it is a need – they serve a purpose at times when you want to know how another person has given a new perspective, has caught the world in an image that you can carry around with you, that satisfies something within. The StoneSkippers is such a book.” (From the Introduction to The Stone Skippers), Roland Leach, (Australia), Poet and both the winner and a shortlist finalist for the Newcastle Prize in Poetry and the Tom Collins Prize.