- Paperback: 64 pages
- Publisher: Faber and Faber; Reprint edition (6 Dec 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0571203604
- ISBN-13: 978-0571203604
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.2 x 0.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 538,159 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| |||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
In the 1000-line poem Killing Time, the manic countdown to a thousand years of history reaches its climax, with the last twelve months spooling past like newsreel. In the Age of Communication, we find a world picked clean by microphone and camera, a world where nothing is sacred, secret or even true.
Simon Armitage, renowned for his 'technique, versatility and passion', rises to the challenge of delineating this supposed milestone in civilization. In Killing Time he proves verse to be the perfect language for taking on the big issues of our time, and poetry a genuine alternative in a world ransacked for knowledge and news.
About the Author
Simon Armitage was born in West Yorkshire and is Professor of Poetry at the University of Sheffield. A recipient of numerous prizes and awards, he has published ten collections of poetry, including Selected Poems (2001), Seeing Stars (2010), his acclaimed translation ofSir Gawain and the Green Knight (2007) and more recentlyThe Death of King Arthur (2012). A broadcaster and presenter, he also writes extensively for television and radio, is the author of two novels and the best-selling memoir All Points North. In 2010 he received the CBE for services to poetry.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As always Simon seems to be able to cut through the hyperbole surrounding the millenium to touch profoundly upon the things happening today which move and affect people.
His account of the Paddington rail disaster here is chilling in it's deadpan assessment of the cynicism surrounding the disaster - the imagery of mobile phone ringing with no-one to answer is a haunting modern fable.
Crisp concise and to the point - like all his work - good value for the time and money you invest in it.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
More enduring than a ride on the London Eye, Simon Armitage's wry homage to the past one thousand years of human history presents us with no better way to celebrate the millenium.
Armatiage presents us with satirical solliquies and genuinely touching observations in this thousand-line poem, never losing his nerve or devestatingly sharp language as he cruises back and forth through time, commenting upon significant and not-so memorable happenings.
The highlight is his treatment of the Columbine school shootings, never once faltering or losing poetic resonance as he takes us through the event, subsituting the real world for one of flowers, words falling through the air as if in slow motion.
Simply fantastic.
Format:Paperback
Armitage's 1000-line poem was originally conceived as part of a full-length documentary which was appropriately and symbolically broadcast on New Year's Day 2000.
Filled with contemporary references - the Columbine high school shootings, the Paddington rail crash, the London nail bombings, the Millenium Eclipse - Armitage casts his expert eye over an age characterised by cynicism, materiality and the impossiblity of avoiding the searchlight of media intrusion.
As ever, his imagery is haunting, original, memorable and witty. Pour yourself a coffee, pull up a chair, but fasten your seat-belt for a roller-coaster ride to the end of the last millenium.
Filled with contemporary references - the Columbine high school shootings, the Paddington rail crash, the London nail bombings, the Millenium Eclipse - Armitage casts his expert eye over an age characterised by cynicism, materiality and the impossiblity of avoiding the searchlight of media intrusion.
As ever, his imagery is haunting, original, memorable and witty. Pour yourself a coffee, pull up a chair, but fasten your seat-belt for a roller-coaster ride to the end of the last millenium.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Was this review helpful?
Let us know
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
