Weeds and Wild Flowers is a magical meeting of the poems of Alice Oswald and the etchings of Jessica Greenman. Within its pages everyday flora take on an extraordinary life, jostling tragically at times, at times comically, for a foothold in a busying world. Stunningly visualised and skilfully animated, this imaginative collaboration beckons us toward a landscape of botanical characters, and invites us to see ourselves among them.
Weeds and Wild Flowers
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Book Description
A new collection from T. S. Eliot prize-winning poet Alice Oswald - beautifully illustrated throughout with etchings by Jessica Greenman
About the Author
Alice Oswald lives in Devon and is married with three children. Dart, her second collection, won the T. S. Eliot Prize in 2002. Her most recent collection, Woods etc, is a Poetry Book Society Choice and was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection and the T. S. Eliot Prize.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Helen W
Format:Hardcover
A really beautiful book in all senses, the poetry, the etchings and the physical book itself. I haven't really liked much poetry but decided to buy this after reading a review in The Guardian newspaper and was not disappointed. A slight criticism, if I dare to make one would be a lack of reference at the end to the Latin/alternative names of the flowers in the poems as I have had to look up many as I wasn't familiar with the names used. The same for the etchings would be good. The book is a delight without, so don't be put off by this comment. I am expecting some more of Oswald's poetry for my birthday!
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Oswald and Greenman are on the same wavelength, and this is a magical collaboration. Oswald speaks of her hope for an "unsettling pleasure [reading this book], like walking through a garden at night, when the plants come right up to the edges of their names and then beyond them." Greenman echoes with her own dark side, the unsettling pleasure of the etching process: "The flowers themselves act on my mind... they bite into me."
Jessica Greenman's etchings are reprinted here in black and white, appearing as though they have been pencilled in on tracing paper. It's a beautiful effect: filigree intensity & delicate intricacy combine to create images of wild flowers that are at once as deep as if they were carved onto the page, and yet insubstantial, as though seen through a morning mist.
It's hard to imagine a more complimentary style of illustration for Oswald's poetry, which is itself written in filigree language, being a both intense, and delicate, experience. Her poems are a superb selection of personifications: weeds and flowers made human.
"Daisy" murmurs of childhood associations, but ends with a sinister bite:
I will push my nail
into her neck and make
a lovely necklace out of her green bones
"Bastard Toadflax" lives up to his name, in a tongue-in-cheek incarnation:
Marriage?
Extreme headache
slides over one eyebrow.
Only swearing can help now.
And "Snowdrop" is "just a frozen melting glow/of water swollen to the point of falling".
Alice Oswald's poetry always brings me to adjectives that describe light - in the sense of brightness; her work shines, and just keeps getting better. Fans of any of her other works, are sure to enjoy this, her poems speaking with her characteristic clarity and intelligence, whilst hinting at hidden darknesses.
And the hardback, well worth the extra money, is finished in pale blue and brown; a beautiful addition to any shelf. Buy it for friends who love Alice Oswald, or Jessica Greenman, or for yourself, if you have ever looked into the faces of flowers and wondered...
Oh, and the downside? With just 24 poems in its pages, Weeds & Wild Flowers will leave you wanting more.
Jessica Greenman's etchings are reprinted here in black and white, appearing as though they have been pencilled in on tracing paper. It's a beautiful effect: filigree intensity & delicate intricacy combine to create images of wild flowers that are at once as deep as if they were carved onto the page, and yet insubstantial, as though seen through a morning mist.
It's hard to imagine a more complimentary style of illustration for Oswald's poetry, which is itself written in filigree language, being a both intense, and delicate, experience. Her poems are a superb selection of personifications: weeds and flowers made human.
"Daisy" murmurs of childhood associations, but ends with a sinister bite:
I will push my nail
into her neck and make
a lovely necklace out of her green bones
"Bastard Toadflax" lives up to his name, in a tongue-in-cheek incarnation:
Marriage?
Extreme headache
slides over one eyebrow.
Only swearing can help now.
And "Snowdrop" is "just a frozen melting glow/of water swollen to the point of falling".
Alice Oswald's poetry always brings me to adjectives that describe light - in the sense of brightness; her work shines, and just keeps getting better. Fans of any of her other works, are sure to enjoy this, her poems speaking with her characteristic clarity and intelligence, whilst hinting at hidden darknesses.
And the hardback, well worth the extra money, is finished in pale blue and brown; a beautiful addition to any shelf. Buy it for friends who love Alice Oswald, or Jessica Greenman, or for yourself, if you have ever looked into the faces of flowers and wondered...
Oh, and the downside? With just 24 poems in its pages, Weeds & Wild Flowers will leave you wanting more.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book received several excellent reviews in the Daily Telegraph. As I am a keen gardener and interested in wild flowers as well as poetry, it was an obvious choice.
The poems are excellent and the engravings are good, but not as clearly outlined as I had expected; most have a pale grey background.
My daughter borrowed the book and said she liked it too.
The poems are excellent and the engravings are good, but not as clearly outlined as I had expected; most have a pale grey background.
My daughter borrowed the book and said she liked it too.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Mostly Weeds
Bought this small, handsome book for my nature/book/poetry loving husband, based on an excellent review in The Guardian. Alas, neither of us could appreciate the thin prose. Read more
Published on 4 Dec 2010 by Marsha Coupe
4.0 out of 5 stars
Poetry Please
I thought this book was great. I love poetry, and the idea of combining Alice Oswald's poems with etchings means that this book is accessible to more people. Read more
Published on 23 Nov 2010 by emilyfaye
5.0 out of 5 stars
thought Provoking Poetry
Beautifully lyrical poetry with evocative illustrations I thoroughly loved it and some of the poems remain with me still. I can highly recommend this book.
Published on 10 Jun 2009 by Mark Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a beautful book..
I have always liked Alice Oswald's poety and so was keen to acquire this. But the revelation was the etchings of Jessica Greenman. Read more
Published on 17 April 2009 by Cole Thornton
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