{"id":13784,"date":"2017-07-25T08:00:08","date_gmt":"2017-07-25T08:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ink.verticalplus.co.uk\/archive\/?p=13784"},"modified":"2020-12-09T14:29:15","modified_gmt":"2020-12-09T14:29:15","slug":"lynn-woollacott-reviews-shippen-by-dawn-bauling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/lynn-woollacott-reviews-shippen-by-dawn-bauling\/","title":{"rendered":"Lynn Woollacott reviews ‘Shippen’ by Dawn Bauling"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 
\nDawn Bauling is the current editor of The Dawntreader<\/em> and Sarasvati<\/em> poetry magazines and co-editor of Indigo Dreams Publishing with a long list of poetry awards. Shippen<\/em> is also the title of the opening poem in Dawn\u2019s second poetry collection, this poem sets the standard for these original love poems. Once I was familiar with the physical landscape of Shippen (on the Devonshire coast) I became aware how the connections and spirit of the poems link back to the title:<\/p>\n

I will take the platinum pins
\nfrom my silent sea of silver hair,
\nlet its spirals tumble down
\nto the briar and bracken \/\/<\/p>\n

I will unbutton crystal on a last coat
\nshow him the skin he patterned
\nin paths, pearled with aconite
\nand tobacco kisses like jewels \u2026
\n[from Shippen]<\/p>\n

The collection is then divided into four parts, the first, \u2018Field\u2019 takes a journey into the landscape in a variety of active forms: running \u2013 \u2018we took the running dog \/ through the fields up to the long wood\u2019; soaring \u2013 \u2018I\u2019ll soar to the North\u2019s \/ rock walls and waters, \/ to rough edged fell tops\u2019; and walking:<\/p>\n

Stick gathering at Golitha Falls<\/strong><\/p>\n

If every stick or stone
\nin my bag and boot
\non this unexceptional day
\nhad a walk attached
\nall valley tied, fell studded
\nplain or plimsoll,
\neven barefoot tired,
\nI would have enough.
\nThey would be my wood,
\nmy hedge and beach,
\nmy cottage hearth beside,
\neach one turned
\nand seasoned by hand,
\na paw, a storm,
\na child or tide;
\na better gathering tied
\nunder the chiselled hazel
\nlintel of my heart
\nunbriared.<\/p>\n

New places are explored metaphorically; one of my favourite lines: \u2018laughing as rain fell sideways \/ down our necks in rivers \/ ready for us to follow \u2026\u2019 There is a sprinkling of rich short poems and haiku:<\/p>\n

Rapids
\nThe river rolls
\nrapids over
\nstone cold fingers.<\/p>\n

The second sequence \u2018Gate\u2019 steps through a more settled landscape. In \u2018Reveille\u2019 for example, when the dawn chorus awakens her there\u2019s a woodpecker \u2018fast-gattling\u2019, sparrows with \u2018beaks boot-shiny\u2019, a pigeon \u2018muezzins smooth minims\u2019, and the poems ends with, \u2018After one night\u2019s fire \/ you said that the birds would wake me.\u2019<\/p>\n

I liked the playful surreal poem, \u2018On Days Like This\u2019; imagine lying in bed and hearing the guttering spilling over outside, Dawn\u2019s humour sees her metamorphose into a marvellous fish, and the spillage is a waterfall and she is \u2018the fish that leaps \/ that glistens for you \/ within it.\u2019<\/p>\n

A contentment and confidence of the relationship works its way into the poems, in \u2018A Small Exhibition\u2019 nothing much happens but the moment is captured \u2013 an art exhibition \u2013 the colours \u2013 the man and dog waiting for her outside. Throughout this section there is a sense of weather:<\/p>\n

haiku<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thin drips of light lace
\nrattle leaf bells ice clappered
\nwood peels its winter.<\/p>\n

\u2018Hearth\u2019 the third section, water, wood and stones remain a spiritual presence. These are rooted poems. \u2018Hearth\u2019 because there is sense she has \u2018come home\u2019 both to Devon and the love of her life, the love for her children shines through and even in the death of her father she sees in her mother how the love they shared can make you stand in death\u2019s wake (Swallowing My Father). Snaps of images and moments are re-created with emotions, places are specific, \u2018Trenannick\u2019 a list poem; \u2018Today I know I am rich, \/ I have pasty, beer and fresh \/ love on my breath \u2026\u2019 and another example:<\/p>\n

Stones<\/strong>
\n(at Blackingstone Rock)<\/p>\n

Where you are round
\nI am flat;
\nyour song
\nmy whistle;
\nweathered smoothness
\nto dull my bristle
\nand angles that are
\nmade suddenly curves.<\/p>\n

We are at times
\nunalike
\nas leaf and flame<\/p>\n

but together
\ninexplicably
\nlogan stones
\nbalanced perfectly
\nforever.<\/p>\n

\u2018Loft\u2019 the final section takes us journey into the lofty heights of a poet\u2019s emotion of being in love from a schoolgirl\u2019s disappointment to Dawn dallying with a witches craft casting a love spell. These poems particular to the narrator\u2019s observations where she \u2018learns to love like a swan\u2019.<\/p>\n

The beauty of this collection is the well-chosen detail and the echoes of landscape. I would highly recommend this book to bring many moments of pleasure and to uplift your spirit.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lynn Woollacott<\/strong> has two poetry collections published with Indigo Dreams Publishing and writes reviews for Reach Poetry magazine she also has a historical romance e-book on Amazon Kindle (Lynn Haywood), her website is: www.lynnwoollacott.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n

Shippen<\/em> by\u00a0 Dawn Bauling is published by Indigo Dreams Publishing and available here:\u00a0\u00a0http:\/\/www.indigodreams.co.uk\/dawn-shippen\/4584012931#<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Dawn Bauling is the current editor of The Dawntreader and Sarasvati poetry magazines and co-editor of Indigo Dreams Publishing with a long list of poetry awards. Shippen is also the title of the opening poem in Dawn\u2019s second poetry collection, this poem sets the standard for these original love poems. Once I was familiar […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13784"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13788,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13784\/revisions\/13788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}