Sentenced to Life - Softcover

James, Clive

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1447284054 ISBN 13: 9781447284055

Verlag: Picador, 2016

Inhaltsangabe

Collecting poetry written in the years 2011–2014, Sentenced to Life sees Clive James look back over his extraordinarily rich life with a clear-eyed and unflinching honesty.

After falling dangerously ill in 2010, Clive James did not expect to live to see this volume published. But live he did, and these poems see James writing with his insight and energy not only undiminished but positively charged by his situation.

There is no sense of self-pity in this collection, which includes the internet sensation ‘Japanese Maple’ and which deals openly with regret, death and his own illness,. With a great breadth of subject matter – taking in Hollywood, travel, art and politics – it is his fascination with humanity that shines through. It is, above all, a celebration of life – all that is treasurable and memorable in our time here.

Rich in wisdom and sharp of thought, Sentenced to Life represents a career high point from one of the great literary intelligences of the age.

Clive James (1939–2019) was a broadcaster, critic, poet, memoirist and novelist. His acclaimed poetry includes the collection Sentenced to Life and a translation of Dante's The Divine Comedy, both Sunday Times bestsellers. His passion for and knowledge of poetry are distilled in his book of criticism on the subject, Poetry Notebook, and, written in the last year of his life, his personal annotated anthology of favourite poems, The Fire Of Joy.

Praise for Clive James:

'He will be seen, I think, as one of the most important and influential writers of our time' – Bryan Appleyard, Sunday Times

'Wise, witty, terrifying, unflinching and extraordinarily alive' – A.S. Byatt, critic and author of Possession: A Romance

'Clive James is a true poet' – Peter Porter, London Review of Books

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Clive James was the author of more than forty books. As well as essays, he published collections of literary and television criticism, travel writing, verse and novels, plus five volumes of autobiography, Unreliable Memoirs, Falling Towards England, May Week Was In June, North Face of Soho and The Blaze of Obscurity. As a television performer he appeared regularly for both the BBC and ITV, most notably as writer and presenter of the Postcard series of travel documentaries. He published several poetry collections, including the Sunday Times bestseller Sentenced to Life, and a translation of Dante’s The Divine Comedy, which was also a Sunday Times bestseller. In 1992 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia and in 2003 he was awarded the Philip Hodgins memorial medal for literature. He holds honorary doctorates from Sydney University and the University of East Anglia. In 2012 he was appointed CBE and in 2013, an Officer of the Order of Australia. He died in 2019.

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'Wise, witty, terrifying, unflinching and extraordinarily alive . . . both a great pleasure and a chill in the nerves' A.S. Byatt, Guardian

In Sentenced to Life, Clive James looks back over his unusually rich life with a clear-eyed and unflinching honesty. There are regrets, but no trace of self-pity in these verses, which - for all their open dealings with death and illness - are primarily a celebration of what is treasurable and memorable during our time here.

This first-rate collection, which was an instant bestseller on publication, includes the unforgettable 'Japanese Maple' and shows one of our wisest poets with his insight and emotional power not only undiminished but positively charged by his situation.

'A magical work, direct, lyrical, moving, and wholly unsentimental' John Banville, New York Review of Books

'Sentenced to Life is the work of a lifetime, at least so far' Philip Collins, The Times

'James's confrontation with his approaching death is nothing short of inspirational' Joan Bakewell, Independent

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Picador
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2016
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1447284054
• ISBN 13: 9781447284055
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 80
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Macmillan Publishers International Limited; generalproductsafety@macmillan.com; ; (1st Floor, The Liffey Trust Centre, 117-126 Sheriff Street Upper, Dublin 1; Dublin; Irland