Douglas Clark's poems

Douglas Clark was born in Darlington, County Durham, England, of Scottish parents in 1942... I was educated at Glasgow University where I studied Mathematics, and in Edinburgh. From 1973 until my redundancy in 1993 I worked in Computing Services at Bath University. From 1985 to 1991 I published the four books of 'The Horseman Trilogy': 'Troubador' (1985), 'Horsemen' (1988), 'Coatham' (1989), and 'Disbanded' (1991). I also published the additional pamphlet 'Dysholm' (1993) completing my first set of books. I was anthologised in 'Completing the Picture: exiles, outsiders and independents'(edited by William Oxley, Stride, 1995). A 'Selected Poems' was published in 1995. The pamphlet 'Cat Poems' came out in October 1997. The book 'Wounds' was published by Salzburg University Press at the end of 1997. These make up my second set of books. The 'Kitten Poems' pamphlet was published in 2002. A new and selected poems 'Finality' was published in 2005. A compilation of my Durham Poems was published by Arrowhead Press in 2005. The cover graphics of my publications may be viewed.

I edited my webzine Lynx: Poetry from Bath from 1997 to 2000.

William Oxley included me in his Stride Anthology, which coincided with the publication of my 'Selected Poems', and I have extracted my entry.

Here is a selection I would have preferred.

A current selection (18 December 2003) is available, which is included in 'Finality'.

The four books of 'The Horseman Trilogy':

Each book is designed as a separate entity and is not seen as a collection. The books interact. The books are composed of sequences which interact. The poems in a sequence interact.

The ten pamphlets:

'Dysholm' is a collection. It is the postscript to 'The Horseman Trilogy'. 'Cat Poems' is culled from 'The Horseman Trilogy' and was published as a pamphlet in October 1997. 'Poems93', 'Poems94' and 'Poems95' are collections. I have added later pamphlets as the years have gone by. The highly imaginative 'Arkansas-poems' is 90s work.

'Poems93', 'Poems94', 'Poems95' and 'Arkansas-poems' make up an unpublished book 'Skiathos'. 'Selected Poems' was published instead.

My Benjamin Press is discussed, together with reviews and personal communications.

Selected Poems:

This is a version derived from six months consideration. The books of 'The Horseman Trilogy' were written urgently for an audience of one whereas 'Selected Poems' is very much a vanity production.

Wounds:

This pamphlet selected work from between 1994 and 1996. A book 'Wounds' was designed containing Wounds and the Arkansas-poems but it was decided not to publish it as being too personal. James Hogg at Salzburg University Press took it on and it was published at the end of 1997.

William Oxley supplied an article on my early poetry, and Fred Beake wrote an introduction to the book 'Wounds'. I include these for interest. 'The Mary-poems' are known as 'Arkansas-poems' on the Internet.

A couple of months previously I had published my popular hit the 'Cat Poems' pamphlet, extracted from 'Horsemen' and 'Dysholm'.

Warmth:

I hadn't written a poem since 27 September 1998 so in 1999 collected my outstanding poems in a pamphlet Warmth (32 pages). These were assembled from the seven unpublished pamphlets ['Poems93', 'Poems94', ... , 'Poems99'], excluding poems previously published in 'Selected Poems' and 'Wounds'.

But on 9 June 1999 I wrote my goodbye to my friend Ludovic the cat which started me writing again. It begins below but I have been writing very seldom. Marty the kitten came into the house on 22 July 2000 giving me fresh impetus. I designed a 'Kitten Poems' pamphlet (37 pages) which was published in 2002.

A book 'Warmth' of new and selected poems was compiled in the summer of 2000 from the then current selection of poems and the pamphlet Warmth, with the addition of 'Stonehenge' and 'Lifetimes' from 'Selected Poems', and 'Songs to be sung' ['Ludovic the cat', 'Homesteader', 'Poetry', and 'Poem'] from the pamphlet 'Poems00'. But I decided not to publish it as I didn't feel the quality of the new poems good enough to justify the expense.

Four more pamphlets:

I have three early unpublished books: 'Camelot' (70 pages), 'Roncesvalles' (88 pages), and 'Cernunnos' (82 pages) which have been scavenged for poems in the published work.

I would have liked to have added the poems 'pagan' and '...and yet none more wonderful than man' from 'Roncesvalles' to my book 'Troubador' in their appropriate places.

I have added a couple of extra uncollected poems.

Finality:

For my sixtieth birthday I designed a pamphlet Alive (34 pages) being work from 1997 to 2002. A book 'Finality' was designed and PostScript files created containing a current selection and 'Alive' and it was published in 2005.

Pamphlets:

All I had written since 30 June 2003 was my confessional poem but on 16 October 2005 I started writing again:

Love Poems:

For my 65th birthday I designed a pamphlet of Love Poems taken from all my publications and it developed into a book which I made the final publication from my Benjamin Press on 1 May 2008.
If you have any comments do send them to me, Douglas Clark.
Douglas Clark/Douglas Clark's poems/ Benjamin Press, 69 Hillcrest Drive, Bath BA2 1HD, UK/ d.g.d.clark@dgdclynx.plus.com