That Which Appears
Shortlisted for Scottish Poetry Book of the Year 2021
Longlisted for The Laurel Prize 2021
Shortlisted for the Saltire Society Poetry Book of the Year Award 2017
"That Which Appears" gathers together four book-length sequences; "The Hundred Thousand Places", "Yellow & Blue" and "Farm by the Shore", all previously published by Carcanet, plus the title book, that which appears, published by Paragon Press (1994). The poems emerge from a practice of walking in the varied landscapes of the highlands and islands of Scotland. They attempt to attend and respond to the evidence, to "snow on moss on stone", with "small continual adjustments". A conviction grows that environmental damage can only begin to
be repaired by many careful and repeated acts of attention. How can we move here with resourcefulness and least intrusion? Can poetry be generous in response while subject to an ethic of care for place and particularity? Can it provide spaces that will allow for, that welcome and celebrate, that which appears?
Longlisted for The Laurel Prize 2021
Shortlisted for the Saltire Society Poetry Book of the Year Award 2017
"That Which Appears" gathers together four book-length sequences; "The Hundred Thousand Places", "Yellow & Blue" and "Farm by the Shore", all previously published by Carcanet, plus the title book, that which appears, published by Paragon Press (1994). The poems emerge from a practice of walking in the varied landscapes of the highlands and islands of Scotland. They attempt to attend and respond to the evidence, to "snow on moss on stone", with "small continual adjustments". A conviction grows that environmental damage can only begin to
be repaired by many careful and repeated acts of attention. How can we move here with resourcefulness and least intrusion? Can poetry be generous in response while subject to an ethic of care for place and particularity? Can it provide spaces that will allow for, that welcome and celebrate, that which appears?
About the author
Thomas A. Clark lives in the small fishing village of Pittenweem, an the east coast of Scotland. He has published four previous collections of poetry, and numerous small books and cards with his own Moschatel Press. In the summer months, with the artist Laurie Clark, he runs Cairn, a project space for minimal and conceptual art (www.cairneditions.co.uk). Thomas A. Clark's work often appears as installations or interventions in galleries, public spaces or in the landscape. A large collection of such work has been installed throughout New Stobhill Hospital in Glasgow.