Reclamation Field - Richard Davidson

‘When you read Davidson’s poems, his voice looms also otherwhere, insistent: Read them, read them. Words spun with this gift and self-belief come along rarely in English poetry; poems that look like they’ve risen up out of what he calls ‘technological civil wars’. A true poet of place, Davidson speaks for Northern and all English wistfulness—no less acute in the departure poem Sardinia. Grief is a major backdrop to this work, and it has made utter some of the most beautifully tender lines I’ve read, such as in He never wanted me to join the mafia. He says he writes ‘for love’, and this collection is enough to make any weary reader fall madly for poetry again. To paraphrase an old American poet, Richard Davidson is reclaiming the landscape of English poetry.’

Julian Mann

‘Davidson’s lean lines run deep, exploring the hardships and joys of English farm life and what it means to lose someone you love. Reading these small poems transports the reader back a century, to a time when despair was common but unspoken. Each piece of Reclamation Field breaks open slowly, revealing shattered pieces of his heart—a modern work for old souls.’

Deena Ensworth