There are two things I don’t like about “When We Were Slugs,” the new collection of poetry from James Manlow, the former Bournemouth Poet Laureate. The first disappointment is the cover, which seems to me to be a disaster, a stain. My second objection is the title, which is one of the poems, but which, while it may invite curiosity, has bathroom qualities. (That said, though, ‘When We Were Slugs’ is itself a fine poem.) And now, having set aside my two objections, I would like to place on record what a brilliant collection of poems this volume represents.

What I like most about him is the combination of technical mastery and genuine insight; If we add to this that the poems are written in, to use Wordsworth’s trite expression, the ‘language of men’, then we have a very readable and relevant book. The book contains 24 poems, all of which are good, but many are excellent: “Sea Poem,” which opens the collection, “Marilyn,” “The Dressing,” “Delilah,” “Entertaining the Dictator” (which is the featured poem of the entire collection), “Roots” and “Last year”.

“Sea Poem” seems harmless enough, but examination reveals a subtle sonnet structure, but with many lines reduced to about seven syllables; and there is a flexible use of pararimas: eg: ‘interpret/limit’. But the waves of the poem build; it seems to be about something, the debris thrown up by the waves, but then, in Shakespeare’s last couplet, everything expands, including the poet’s consciousness: we get ‘The sea cannot control what it finds; / I just keep making that cute, restless sound.’ Notice the sudden and perfect rhyme, as if the real theme had suddenly snapped into place; notice how the seven syllables of the penultimate line abruptly rush into a full 12-syllable alexandrine like something from a Spenser poem. And notice, too, how the last verse diverts our attention from the garbage of the sea to the emotion that it metaphorically represents, that speaks to us tenderly while lulling us to sleep, but at the same time remains restless in its movement, as we are. In short, the poem brilliantly communicates the ambivalent human condition. The beauty of this achievement is the very metaphor of the sea: it has undeniably often been used in this way as a metaphor, but here Manlow has made the metaphor his own. That is amazing.

If “Sea Poem” is impressive, then “Marilyn” is even more so. It also usually represents a theme that Manlow is interested in and explores extremely well in several of the other poems: a sexuality that he sees as having great impact! See “Delilah” too! Once again, in “Marilyn,” the final line is superb, tying together all the threads of the poem and her shattered life (this is, of course, Marilyn Monroe) and then suggests even deeper, even darker thoughts: “Towards the bright lights she brings sorrow, / Thinking, tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow”. Wow, this truncated reference to Shakespeare and specifically Macbeth pondering the aftermath of his wife’s suicide is writing of the highest order. Here nothing is plowed, everything is compact and revealing – the end is inevitable. wonderful poetry.

Space forbids further analysis, but I need only comment on “Entertaining the Dictator” before I wrap up this review. This poem is the largest poem in the collection. First, it’s a villanelle, a notoriously difficult form to master; second, everything I’ve talked about before (the oblique rhymes, the ravishing sexuality, the powerful ending) is here in abundance. But we also have disgust and disgust, and what might be called political poetry. Manlow is not preaching; rather, he is observing and describing, and he does so, through the repetitive form of villanelle, in a somewhat mechanical way. However, the cumulative effect of doing this adds up to a full indictment of fascism (or dictatorships in general) and also in the bottom line a full indictment of us: “Yet we hadn’t done anything, and no one had said a word”. This brings us back to Hitler and the collective failure of anyone who opposed him until it was too late and he was in complete control.

Therefore, I highly recommend this collection to all lovers of poetry: people who love form, structure, clarity, and ideas. For those who love ‘free’ verse, self-indulgent nonsense, anything goes but it’s my poetry, I suggest you avoid this collection as it is real poetry and is likely to annoy you, especially the rhyming bits!