A Scatter of Leaves: Occasional Verse
ISBN 9780648534501, Paperback, 153 x 234 mm, 96 pages
AUD $15 + postage
I hope this collection of poems will provide something of interest for almost anyone. Written in the vernacular, without too much pretense or posture, the poems span 40 years of mostly naïve wonderment. Whether evoking a sense of place while travelling, praising the joys of life shared with family, expressing frustration at our political culture, extolling the wonders of nature, art, and our private experience, or simply for the wicked sense of the ironic -- you will likely find something here to please, amuse, and perhaps move.
Why the title A Scatter of Leaves? I love the thought that the inspiration for these poems is scattering like so many colored leaves in the wind. The poems have been written over a long time and so the scatter is far-blown. A second reason for loving the title – my father was a talented oil painter, and although I didn’t recall it when I first thought of the title for the collection, his painting, Close to Earth (1980) turned out to be a perfect fit for the cover design of this beautiful book. As well, I have chosen photographs to thematically illustrate the different sections of the book that come mostly from family albums. So the whole book reflects in a profound way my family history, as well as my personal experience.
Occasional verse? Quite occasional. I have spent my working life mostly as an academic, writing things academic, which means in a rational and logocentric way quite removed from the muse of poetry. So there have been competing mental demands. The fifty poems selected here span four decades, although most are more recent. Many have been edited right up to the present time. I have kept faith, however, with the original moment of inspiration in giving a date for the poems. This also helps to connect them with their historical context, and mine.
I have gathered the poems into five sections. ‘On the Road’ includes verse written while travelling overseas (as often for work as for leisure). Most of these aim to portray either a sense of place and time, or capture those unique or unusual experiences that happen while one travels. The second grouping of poems, ‘Gone Troppo’, celebrates my love for fishing, and for a life lived by the sea at our beach hut retreat in North Queensland. The third, ‘Home and Heart’, addresses the fundamentals of family life – births and deaths, love and marriage, and the raising of children. The final two groupings are more loosely connected. ‘Out of Our Minds’ includes poems that convey my love for the arts and for culture, but they also register concerns about politics and the current state of the world. The final grouping, ‘Mysterious Encounters, all share a sense of wonder at the mystery and strangeness of life, wherever you care to look.
My hope is that most readers will find something here that is illuminating, or amusing, or perhaps moving. Please enjoy!
Peter T Raggatt
June 2019
Lennox Head, NSW
“Well, at least you look like a poet.”
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