Full Description
THE BIG RIP is a theory of the universe's end when all
matter disintegrates into elementary particles as the universe
expands and rips apart. In these deeply material poems,
Andy Brown engages with such cyclical images of growth
and decay, and traces of presence and absence, exploring the
gaps we find between ourselves and the world - gaps that
resonate with wonder and dis/belief.
Arranged into five suites of poems, the personal pieces in
The Family Whistle uncover family traces in photos, objects,
sayings and sounds, while those in the second, Dragonflies at
Le Pré, reflect the book's themes through the experiences of
a life lived between Brittany and Devon. Other poems dwell
outside in the environment, especially on rivers and
shorelines in Some Sayings About the River, or reflect an
abiding interest in ecology and the inhabitants of the non-
human world, in the fourth suite, Murmurations. In the title
section, The Big Rip, the poems converge again around
themes of presence and absence to reflect on one of the
book's recurring themes: how to reconcile a sense of
transcendence in a postreligious world.
Throughout, these poems pay homage to literary traces,
traditions, and influences, including versions of French
poems by Verlaine, Spanish poems by Borges, episodes from
Homer and Ovid, or poems written in response to the
works of others. The book begins with a whistle shaped by
the lips and ends with an affirmative image of lips framing
the word 'Yes' - in between, all is breath.
Contents
Contents
The Family Whistle
The Family Whistle 5
Generations 6
The First Photo of Them Together 8
Some Facts About My Father 9
Poem Ending on a Photo Taken by My Daughter, Years
Earlier 10
Doing the Reno's 11
Treasure 12
Your Hats 13
Talking With You on WhatsApp in Bulgaria 14
A Portrait of My Mother with Peppermint Tea, 2012 15
Ωmega 16
Dragonflies at Le Pré
Dragonflies at Le Pré 19
At Pomeleuc 20
La Fontaine de Notre Dame 21
Thoughts About the Wu Wei on the Nantes-Brest
Canal 22
Quietly in a Room Alone 23
A Letter From Bretagne 24
Dusk 25
Twelfth Night in Cardeno 26
Réveillons 27
Some Sayings About the River
Some Sayings About the River 31
Ophelia at Hackney Channel 32
Fulcrum 33
At Jubillee Wharf 34
i. The Fishing Vessel CN110/BA55 34
ii. Calm Through the Wheelhouse Window 35
Notations of Ten Summer Minutes 36
The Melancholy of Beaches 37
Landcombe Cove at Night 39
Notions of Transience at Pedn Vounder 40
Reflections on Samsara at Sandy Bay 42
Aquaculture - Blue Mussels 43
Hammock on Oyster Shell Mountain 44
i. Aphrodisiac 44
ii. Hoard 44
What The Migrant Told Me 45
Murmurations
Swifts 49
Murmurations 50
Fantasia on Diverse Aquaria 51
Zoology Class 53
i. Arachnid 53
ii. African Clawed Toad 54
iii. Woodlice 55
iv. Preserved Specimen of Anura 57
v. Snake 58
vi. Vivarium 60
Desert Songs 61
Rocky Scrublands 63
Garden Cherry Tree as Author 64
A Burr of Oak 65
Climbers & Trees 66
Our Endless & Proper Work 67
i. The Hide 67
ii. Dawn Swim 67
The Totleigh Owl 68
The Big Rip
The Big Rip 71
Calavera 72
Three Hares 73
The Priest Invited Everybody Up 74
Relegere / Religare 75
i. Relegere 75
ii. Religare 76
The Trace 77
To Orpheus 78
Facts of Life Through a Sitting Room Window 79
Deliverance 80
Autumn Echo 81
Last Vacation 82
Wheat Field With Crows 83
That Day 84
Thusness 85
It Happens 86
