Thursday, 23 December 2021

Colin MacInnes, The Parthenon Marbles, 1957

 


"Greeks and Vandals", a controversial dialogue about the Parthenon Marbles, first published in Twentieth Century, July, 1957.

Republished by MacGibbon & Kee, 1961 and in Penguin Books,1966 (as England, Half English, A Polyphoto of the Fifties, with a new introduction by the author).













Saturday, 18 December 2021

Theodorakis, Britten and Bob Dylan: Poetry as Song


Just published: my illustrated article on Poetry and Song, Theodorakis, Britten and Bob Dylan:

https://c20ajournal.com/2021/12/18/theodorakis-britten-bob-dylan-poetry-as-song/


From ISSUE no. 5 of C.20 - an international journal. 

"This issue commemorates the late Mikis Theodorakis with an essay "POETRY AS SONG" by Jim Potts, who attended many concerts by Theodorakis in the 1970s and has been professionally involved with the composer's works. He celebrates Theodorakis' compositions for voice in the context of Benjamin Britten and Bob Dylan".


Saturday, 11 December 2021

Christmas Poem (from Words on the table)

 



Poem from Words on the table, Colenso Books

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Words-table-Poems-Jim-Potts/dp/1912788217/ref=sr_1_1?crid=20RA5RJ96YQYA&keywords=jim+potts%2C+words+on+the+table&qid=1639243286&sprefix=Jim+Potts%2Caps%2C158&sr=8-1

 

Words on the table

Top Amazon reviews from United Kingdom

Nangle Rare Books

5.0 out of 5 stars An Important Collection

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 December 2021

This collection is a truly important one which reflects our relatively recent international and national history in a way few books of poetry can. Many of the poems are short and hugely digestible while others, longer, re-awaken the reader to memories too easily forgotten, such as the war in Sarajevo in the early 1990's. However, for this reader, Potts' poems inspired by the 'Blues' and its practitioners, such as Howlin' Wolf, stand out. These are memories that live happily in the heart and soul of anyone with a beating heart. His recollection of the moment Elvis died is worth repeating here: 'Of course Elvis' death was the talk of the town/I heard about it on the radio/whilst having a bath in Nairobi'. Julian Nangle


Mark Allen

5.0 out of 5 stars A real feast of poetry

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 November 2021 

Words On The Table is a veritable feast of poetry, spanning many decades and forged from a life spent all over the world. Jim Potts’ poetry is rich and varied, with pithy and wry observations and profound comments about the state of the world. There is a restless quality to the poetry, a yearning for a better world and an admirable curiosity about areas of interest, like music, history and architecture. I thoroughly recommend this excellent book of poetry.


Dick Alford

5.0 out of 5 stars Journeys with Jim Potts

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 December 2021

Jim Potts' poems take his readers by the hand and guide them around the world, visiting countries where he has lived- Greece and Czechoslovakia on the eve of the Velvet Revolution feature prominently- not forgetting Dorset his home now. His poems, especially the endings, keep us moving on, keen to see more places and meet new people, pleased to have been with him on his journeys.