The Hugger Mugger by Seán Haldane

The Hugger Mugger by Seán Haldane Format: Paperback Pages: 100 Publication: September 2020 ISBN: 9780957466975 A passionate dedication to poetry over a lifetime is distilled in this selection made by the poet himself. Haldane’s gift was recognised early on by Robert Graves, and Robert Nye wrote of him: ‘He can be sure of his place among the English poets.’ The effect of reading Haldane’s poetry was described perfectly by Helena Nelson as ‘Not unlike walking very close to a waterfall. Things sparkle and flash on all sides.’ The Sound of the Sound The sound of the wind in the trees, and of the sound… Let me explain. We are in a clearing In the woods – birch, maple, spruce, fir – and the breeze Bends and sweeps, twists and turns the trees. They hiss, rustle, swish with unvoiced sound (The only voices ours). So far so good: These are the sounds of the wood. But the other sound, from out in the bay (The sound) – not with us at low tide, a mile away, Then more like a change in the background: Not a roar (that cliché) nor the boom Of waves, it’s a steady rushing As the tide engulfs the sandy, muddy ground. This is the sound of the sound. Seán Haldane Seán Haldane (1943-2023) authored collections of poetry, novels (the first of which won the Crime Writers of Canada Award for Best Crime Novel), and books on psychology and neuroscience. He was born in East Sussex, grew up in Belfast, and lived and worked mainly in Canada and England thereafter. As a poet, he maintained his independence from any literary ‘scene’, stating that: ‘I decided ages ago that if I were a poet, I didn’t want to make a career of it. So I had to make a living another way. I tried farming, I tried living off the land in Canada. I tried publishing, and then I gravitated toward psychology and neuropsychology.’