Christopher Reid’s alphabetical conceit finds the poet in an assured mood and master of his craft
The lure of the alphabet as a way of organising poetry is not new to Christopher Reid, whose work for children includes Alphabicycle Order. It might be interesting to discover why he felt moved to write a collection in which every poem began with a C (C for Christopher?). Whatever – the surprise is that, contrary to what you might predict (C is for contrivance and constraint), the book (his 13th for adults) rises above the formulaic, ranges far and wide, goes deep, paddles in the shallows and is never less than readably miscellaneous (C is for compendious).
Related: A life in writing: Christopher Reid
Related: Poet Christopher Reid talks about winning the Costa book of the year
Continue reading...