This highly original collection of poetry by John Looker, published by Bennison Books, takes as its theme the idea of human work in all its forms. We are invited to share an epic journey with him through time and across continents - and what a journey it is!
With economy and intelligence, he spans the globe and navigates our common history over millennia. Here we meet our ancient ancestors as they conjure with possibility; a humble vegetable grower rebelling against the tyranny of straight rows; and a dancer longing for a break and recognition at last. We are taken inside the confines of a submarine; join a businesswoman locked outside on a hotel balcony; and witness a high-profile ambassador's very public fall from grace.
The long poem, The Night Shift, is a tour-de-force. Its lyrical, almost elegiac opening stanza draws us into a world many of us will never experience:
The world is turning and a longitudinal arc dips slowly away from the sun towards the darkness. Somewhere along this littoral lies our city.
These delicately evocative lines soon give way to the gritty reality of law enforcement, hospital workers, chefs, doormen, and maintenance workers in 'tunnels of primordial quiet and darkness'.
Equally compelling is our early morning call in Master Baker when 'only monks, rung into church for matins, know this as a time to begin'. We can watch the baker at work as he fetches the dough, echoing the ancient arts of Egypt, Rome and the East. We can smell the yeast and warm bread and feel the need to dust the flour from our sleeve as we turn the page.
This is exquisitely wrought poetry documenting an extraordinary journey - from the timeless sweep of The Silk Road and the 'lost Milky Way' to a single tear in the eye of a 1950s housewife. John Looker is a gifted and accomplished poet and we could not ask for a better travelling companion.
