customer review

MASTERING MUSIC WALKS THE SUNLIT SEA
Roundel and Sonnet Sequences
Alan Jacobs. Matador 2008 P.63 Paperback £6.99

Alan Jacobs prefaces his beautiful and melodious poetry with the words that he has endeavoured to compose an aesthetic poetry returning to mainstream English prosody, respecting the principles of musicality, wherever possible rooted in Nature. He certainly succeeds in this attempt. He is indeed a master of the Sonnet mainly using the Italian form beloved of Petrarch .
His Sonnet sequence is mystical in character as the author is steeped in Non Dualistic Philosophy ..
He honours the feminine aspect of the Divine. His titles are startlingly innovative, using natural description to set a mood rather than being subjects of the poem. He delights in elevated language which he feels is most suitable for what Shelley termed the ‘Higher Poetry’
His Roundels expressing Sage wisdom, use a form beloved of Algernon Swinburne, and are refreshing in their ingenious novelty. One detects a Pre Raphaelite influence in his poetry, after all the title is a line from Dante Rossetti founder of the movement which was a revolt against the industrial revolution as Jacobs reacts against contemporary materialism.
His Poetry is a refreshing change from the overworked contemporary free verse with which we are flooded in so many poetry magazines and collections. Robert Frost said that ‘free verse is like playing tennis without a net’. So much nowadays consist of prosaic figures of speech, flowing from the top of the head, casually separated by line breaks. The subject matter is generally mundane rather than ethereal. This is Alan Jacobs’ slender debut collection and we look forward to seeing more of his gifted musicality flourish in longer occasional poems in subsequent collections.

Paula Marvelly