HEARING EYE Publications

William Oxley

William Oxley was born in Manchester. A poet and philosopher, he has also worked as accountant, part-time gardener, and actor. At present he divides his time between London and South Devon. His poems have been widely published throughout the world. A former member of the General Council of the Poetry Society and ex-assistant editor of Acumen, he is founder of the Long Poem Group, and he co-edits its newsletter with Sebastian Barker. He was the Millennium Year poet-in-residence for Torbay in Devon.

It was while on holiday in Nepal that he began to write the poems which appear in his first Hearing Eye collection, Namaste. Captivated by the country, he began to note its landscapes, figures, politics and above all its culture. He gave poetry readings and workshops for the poetry society of Nepal, Spiny Babbler, and has co-edited the anthology Selected Modern Poets of Europe (Spiny Babbler, Nepal, 2004). He is the only British poet to have actually read his work in Shangri-la.

Reviews of William Oxley's Reclaiming the Lyre Selected and New Poems 1967 - 2000:

'What strikes the reader first of all is Oxley's commitment to form - and his consummate skill in subsuming it into his work in such a way that it never draws attention to itself... there is always the sense that the poem has grown out of a tension between form and content... Oxley melds the two together in a seamless fashion which renders his work fresh and yet meditative, serious and yet entertaining.'
(Ian Parks, Poetry Quarterly Review)

'William Oxley at his best uses a direct no-nonsense first-person voice, with a satirical edge... I admire Oxley's efforts to write a spiritual poetry for our time and his refusal to give up on the traditional subject.'
(John Greening, The London Magazine)

Namaste Price: £6.50 ISBN 1 870841 95 6 Published 30/9/2004

'William Oxley often accentuates the positive. A refreshing thing to do. Even his Nepalese poems, alert with arresting images, ultimately reflect on the light side of the soul.'
(Dannie Abse.)

To order this book by post, please send your name address and postcode, including payment, to:
Hearing Eye, Box 1, 99 Torriano Avenue, London, England NW5 2RX.
Price is inclusive of postage and packing when ordered direct from Hearing Eye.

 

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