Dart
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- Create Date：2021-05-12 08:54:00
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Alice Oswald
- ISBN：057121410X
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Summary
Over the past three years Alice Oswald has been recording conversations with people who live and work on the River Dart in Devon。 Using these records and voices as a sort of poetic census， she creates a narrative of the river， tracking its life from source to sea。 The voices are wonderfully varied and idiomatic - they include a poacher， a ferryman， a sewage worker and milk worker， a forester， swimmers and canoeists - and are interlinked with historic and mythic voices: drowned voices， dreaming voices and marginal notes which act as markers along the way。
Reviews
Melanie Greenwood
，
stunning collection of poetry， the story of river from spring to sea， delectable， powerful， sensual。
James Mumford
，
'Who's this issuing from the earth？ / The Dart， lying low in darkness calls out Who is it？ / trying to summon itself by speaking 。。。''you can tell it's / me / because of the wearing action of water on bone''Next morning it came home to us he was drowned。 / He should never have swum on his own。 / Now he's so thin you can see the light / through his skin， you can see the filth in his midriff。 / Now he's the groom of the Dart – I've seen him / taking the shape of the sky， a bird， a blade， / a falle 'Who's this issuing from the earth？ / The Dart， lying low in darkness calls out Who is it？ / trying to summon itself by speaking 。。。''you can tell it's / me / because of the wearing action of water on bone''Next morning it came home to us he was drowned。 / He should never have swum on his own。 / Now he's so thin you can see the light / through his skin， you can see the filth in his midriff。 / Now he's the groom of the Dart – I've seen him / taking the shape of the sky， a bird， a blade， / a fallen leaf， a stone - may he lie long / in the inexplicable knot of the river's body''put your head， / it looks a good one， full of kiss / and known to those you love， come roll it on my stones， / come tongue-in-skull， come drinketh， come sleepeth''I was sideways， leaning upstream， a tattered shape in a perilous relationship with time' 'and someone stared at the sea between his shoes / and I who had the next door grave / undressed without a word and lay / in darkness thinking of the sea''who's this moving in the dark？ Me。 / This is me， anonymous， water's soliloquy。' 'where my name disappears and the sea slides in to replace it'Formally， this is a masterpiece。 An almost fifty-page poem， 'Dart' is an exemplar of 'form revealing experience' （a mantra of Denise Levertov's 'organic form'， in turn inspired by the 'open form composition' of Charles Olson and William Carlos Williams among others）。 The overwhelming flow of vers libre is interweaved with brief glimpses of stringency –– blank verse， some quatrains， English sonnets –– as is necessary in the poem's central endeavour to embody the motion of the river itself。 'Open form composition' is a process， primarily， of energy transfer。 From the slight tranquility of the Dart's source， to the rushing velocity of the river， out into the vast， ebbing expanse of the sea， the raw energy of the water is transposed onto the page， and any formal elements employed are essential to， and necessitated by that process。 'Dart' is comprised of a series of voices –– all people Oswald interviewed along the Dart， with varying relations to it –– or， as Oswald calls them in the preface， 'the river's mutterings'。 The voices are sometimes in conversation with one another， such as a forester and a water-nymph， but mostly they bleed into one another， telling one coherent story of the water and the 'swift fragmentary happenings' it carries。 Corpses are revivified on the page， the river itself speaks to us， we transcend into Dream， but we're also rooted in the mundane， the industrial: stonewallers， tin-extractors， dairy and sewage workers。 The speakers are subject to a constant metaphysical conflation of 'human' and 'natural'; the swimmers 'jump from a tree into a pool' and 'change [them]selves / into the fish dimension': 'water with my bones， water with my mouth and my / understanding / when my body was in some way a wave to swim in'。 The rememberer's eyes are 'made mostly of movement'; the young navel cadet， too， says， 'Every morning I bang my head against the wall， I let it shatter / and slowly fill up with water'。 And always， always， always， we're brought back to the river's secret song。 'will you rustle quietly and listen'？ 'put your ear to it， you can hear water / cooped up in moss and moving' –– the East and West Dart， upon converging at Dartmeet， 'speak' of the places and people from whence they came。 The water-nymph laments the tragic drowning of a canoeist in the Dart， and the canoeist tells us of the water's 'foundry for sounds' down below –– the 'jabber of pidgin-river / drilling these rhythmic cells and trails of scales'。 The final speaker of the poem， the 'sealwatcher'， describes the sea: 'Self-maker， speaking its meaning over mine'。 This is the thesis of the poem。 Water bestows identity upon people。 Water devours and preserves identities。 Identity and water exist in a perpetual symbiosis。 Ultimately， meaning is neither ascribed nor ancillary to the water; meaning /is/ the water。 The Dart， our eternal resting place， it calls us: 'come tongue-in-skull， come drinketh， come sleepeth'。 I loved it。 。。。more
Ali
，
what
Anna
，
"Every morning I bang my head against the wall， I let it shatter and slowly fill up with water。 I jog round the block， I go like hell and there's the sea the whole of it measuring itself against my body， how strong am I？" "Every morning I bang my head against the wall， I let it shatter and slowly fill up with water。 I jog round the block， I go like hell and there's the sea the whole of it measuring itself against my body， how strong am I？" 。。。more
Anna Dillingham
，
This was a fascinating read。 I had to read this for my Postmodernism course at uni， but found myself enjoying it as if I had picked it up off a hidden shelf at the back of a library。 The mixture of prose and poetry creates a metamorphosis of sound and place for the reader， one that I found to force my position within the world to shift into the same flux that the river creates。 The finality of Proteus greeting the water from the river in the seal caves drew me back to those classic poems of Home This was a fascinating read。 I had to read this for my Postmodernism course at uni， but found myself enjoying it as if I had picked it up off a hidden shelf at the back of a library。 The mixture of prose and poetry creates a metamorphosis of sound and place for the reader， one that I found to force my position within the world to shift into the same flux that the river creates。 The finality of Proteus greeting the water from the river in the seal caves drew me back to those classic poems of Homer and Ovid。 The river， story， and heart dissolving once again into the primordial soup from which it was created。 All over a wonderful work and worthy of a read！ 。。。more
Aliénor Daki-Taine
，
Somewhere in between Saint-John Perse's Amers， Woolf's The Waves and a documentary on the river Dart， this long poem retraces the flow of the river from its spring to the sea through the voices of the people -real or mythical - that live along its banks and waters。 What is most striking about it is the beautiful polyphony on which it is based， each persona being given its own concerns and poetic form。 One of my favourite passages is probably the 'dialogue' between the waternymph and the forester Somewhere in between Saint-John Perse's Amers， Woolf's The Waves and a documentary on the river Dart， this long poem retraces the flow of the river from its spring to the sea through the voices of the people -real or mythical - that live along its banks and waters。 What is most striking about it is the beautiful polyphony on which it is based， each persona being given its own concerns and poetic form。 One of my favourite passages is probably the 'dialogue' between the waternymph and the forester: woodman working on the cragsalone among increasing twigsnotice this， next time you pauseto drink a flask and file the sawsthe Combestone and the Broadstonestanding in a sunbeam gown，the O Brook and the Rowbrookstarlit everywhere you looksuch deep woods it feels like indoors and then you look down and see it's raining on the river Another thing that makes the poem remarkable is how actually informative it ends up being， without being any less poetical。 Reading it， one learns about the mythological stories surrounding the river， the diverse economic activities it sustains， its fauna， and even the casualties it has made。 This is a fully-fledge poetic portrait of a great river。It is also excellent， very clever poetry， to which I didn't give 5 stars only because it didn't manage to actually move me。 。。。more
Janisse Ray
，
I'm not going to star this book， mainly because the 5-star system is so damn simplistic。 If we're talking about genius， this book gets 5 stars。 If we're talking heart， not so many。 This is a book-length poem about the river Dart in England， told in many voices -- those of people who work & use & play on the river， as well as the voices of the river itself。 The epic poem is masterfully accomplished， but I am looking for something more。 I want to feel as well as think。 I'm not going to star this book， mainly because the 5-star system is so damn simplistic。 If we're talking about genius， this book gets 5 stars。 If we're talking heart， not so many。 This is a book-length poem about the river Dart in England， told in many voices -- those of people who work & use & play on the river， as well as the voices of the river itself。 The epic poem is masterfully accomplished， but I am looking for something more。 I want to feel as well as think。 。。。more
Danni
，
**uni read - contemporary writing**I found this poem to be incredibly beautiful， a number of the images depicted are stunning， and the utilisation of so many voices and the changing paces as though mirroring the rivers movements are incredibly clever。 my only possible reason for complaint is that I wish some of those narratives came to actual conclusions rather than moving on to the next！
Troy Zaher
，
Read for my ecocriticism masters class。 It was interesting， though not something that particularly fit my tastes （both personally and academically）。 It’s highly artistic though， and the concept surrounding it is very high。
Anica
，
Favourite quotes:"Oh I'm slow and sick， I'm trying to talk myself round to leaving this place，but there's roots growing round my mouth， my foot'sin a rusted tin。 One night I will。" （4）"if I shout out，if I shout in，I am only as wideas a word's aperture" （21）"Tillworkers， thieves and housewives， all enshrinedin sleep， unable to look round; night vagrants，prisoners on dream-bail， children without parents，free-trading， changing， disembodied， blinddreamers of every kind;even corpses， creeping discons Favourite quotes:"Oh I'm slow and sick， I'm trying to talk myself round to leaving this place，but there's roots growing round my mouth， my foot'sin a rusted tin。 One night I will。" （4）"if I shout out，if I shout in，I am only as wideas a word's aperture" （21）"Tillworkers， thieves and housewives， all enshrinedin sleep， unable to look round; night vagrants，prisoners on dream-bail， children without parents，free-trading， changing， disembodied， blinddreamers of every kind;even corpses， creeping disconsolatewith tiny mouths， not knowing， still in tears，still in their own small separate atmospheres，rubbing the mould from their wet hands and feetand lovers in mid-flightall sank like a feather falls， not quitein full possession of their weight" （28）"have you forgotten the force that orders the world'sfieldsand sets all cities in their sites， this nomadpulling the sun and moon， placeless in all places，born with her stones， with her circular bird-voice，carrying everywhere her quarters？" （29） and the gorgeous ending。3 stars merely because I found it a little unwieldy。 。。。more
Graham
，
It’s been a voyage of discovery finding stories written as poems this year。 To trace a river from source to mouth by foot is one thing， but to do it by words requires a degree of skill。 Water is just water， but Alice Oswald has turned the chattering stream into a narrative soundtrack， echoing with the stories of those alive and dead who have dipped their rudders， paddles， nets and souls into the everflowing river。So I enjoyed this: each section drifts into the next， and the voices of the poacher It’s been a voyage of discovery finding stories written as poems this year。 To trace a river from source to mouth by foot is one thing， but to do it by words requires a degree of skill。 Water is just water， but Alice Oswald has turned the chattering stream into a narrative soundtrack， echoing with the stories of those alive and dead who have dipped their rudders， paddles， nets and souls into the everflowing river。So I enjoyed this: each section drifts into the next， and the voices of the poachers （three anonymous poachers as it says in the credits！） are distinct from the canoeist， the milk parlour， the water pumping station， and the walker out meeting it at its source。 Mythology and history weave around each other， and the impression of a crowd waiting each for their turn to speak is palpable。Book found whilst watching the Alice Roberts programme on Wild Swimming， repeated a couple of weeks ago。 。。。more
Lauren
，
Oswald's descriptions are made up of beautiful， winding prose studded with facts from the past and present。 Her originality as a poet made this one of my new favourites。 Oswald's descriptions are made up of beautiful， winding prose studded with facts from the past and present。 Her originality as a poet made this one of my new favourites。 。。。more
Bex
，
Alice Oswald is one of my favourite poets， and so， having had my first real swim in the River Dart this week and fallen in love with it， I was delighted to discover that she'd written this beautiful homage to that body of water。 The poem is 48 pages long and weaves together different voices of people who live and work by the Dart， as well as that of the Dart itself， following the course of the river from its two sources to the sea。 It's not always entirely clear whose voice we're hearing， and I Alice Oswald is one of my favourite poets， and so， having had my first real swim in the River Dart this week and fallen in love with it， I was delighted to discover that she'd written this beautiful homage to that body of water。 The poem is 48 pages long and weaves together different voices of people who live and work by the Dart， as well as that of the Dart itself， following the course of the river from its two sources to the sea。 It's not always entirely clear whose voice we're hearing， and I loved that。 It suggested a fluidity between human and river， and a rich， deep， historical connection between all of the flora and fauna of the place。 She often gives voice to the animal and non-human in her poetry， and it's always eye-opening in the way it shifts perspective。 I also enjoyed the inclusion of the haunting， ghostly voices of the past， those whose lives have been lost to the river - 'Dart， Dart; every year thou claimest a heart'。 One of the things I love most about Oswald's writing is the way she plays with sounds and perspective， and the almost dreamlike， impressionistic quality of the images that she presents: 'like the flow-veins on the sand / or like the inkling of a fish / or like the phases of a splash'。 Reading this poem， I feel like I am in the peaty-whisky-gold of the Dart's waters， and that's exactly what I was hoping for。 Perfect。 。。。more
Anne Chafer
，
（3。5 stars） A little hard to follow at times， unlike Oswald’s more recent poetry， but lyrical and magical and wonderful。 I loved the insertions of river myth and the choral nature of the poem， as well as the juxtapositions of everyday life with thhe mystery and myth surrounding the same river。
James Tingle
，
I picked this up randomly from a bookshop ages ago， as I'd heard it was supposed to be very good and I did enjoy it in the main。 I've not read many poetry books like this one， where its just one huge， interconnected poem， and so that was a bit different for starters。 Its all about the River Dart， in Devon， Southern England， and its clear as you read it that the author， Alice Oswald， has done a lot of research into the subject matter and knows this river like the back of her hand。 Like an actual I picked this up randomly from a bookshop ages ago， as I'd heard it was supposed to be very good and I did enjoy it in the main。 I've not read many poetry books like this one， where its just one huge， interconnected poem， and so that was a bit different for starters。 Its all about the River Dart， in Devon， Southern England， and its clear as you read it that the author， Alice Oswald， has done a lot of research into the subject matter and knows this river like the back of her hand。 Like an actual river， it flows very smoothly and in unbroken fashion and drifts seamlessly from one aspect of the river's character to another， and has a graceful construction that has obviously been very carefully crafted。 I like how she combines actual hard reality aspects of the natural environment with flourishes of imagination， and so it feels like a geography lesson， taught by a talented poet， which is pretty unique really。 The one thing that I found slightly problematic in a way， is that because she knows the area and the river itself so well， and has such an intimate knowledge of every water-polished rock， overhanging branch and darting fish， I sometimes think maybe you need to have walked along the banks of this river yourself， to fully understand all the details she goes into， as it is a very in depth， almost analytical poem in some ways。。。Still， it is good and I enjoyed it on the level on which I could understand it， but I feel if you live in the area and know the river even a fraction as well as she obviously does， it will probably come to life even more， as you'll be able to fully picture a lot of the things she writes so descriptively about。。。overall， an evocative and lovely slice of nature。 。。。more
Harriet Thacker
，
Dart is the result of two years research listening to conversations of people who live by the River Dart。The poem flits between voices but like the river is a continuous flow。 The voices overlap each other like waves。 Oswald captures the river and the life around river perfectly。 And there is so much life and death and myth and soul all leading out to the great， wide sea。
Adriana
，
Este libro es un largo poema que parte de una investigación sobre las voces de las personas que viven y trabajan en el río Dart。 Al principio hay una nota de la autora aclarando esto， que estuvo dos años grabando conversaciones con personas que conocen el río para después escribir este libro。 Tiene entonces algo de traducción， un intento de traducir "the river's mutterings"， como ella dice。 Y también una propuesta， me parece， de desdibujar las divisiones entre lo natural y lo humano， o en todo c Este libro es un largo poema que parte de una investigación sobre las voces de las personas que viven y trabajan en el río Dart。 Al principio hay una nota de la autora aclarando esto， que estuvo dos años grabando conversaciones con personas que conocen el río para después escribir este libro。 Tiene entonces algo de traducción， un intento de traducir "the river's mutterings"， como ella dice。 Y también una propuesta， me parece， de desdibujar las divisiones entre lo natural y lo humano， o en todo caso pensar sus relaciones， cómo se determinan mutuamente。 Un proyecto ambicioso （tanto que requiere una nota de la autora inicial）。 Todas estas cosas tiene este libro en común con Memorial， el otro de Oswald que leí。 De todas formas， Memorial es una joya absoluta sin desperdicio （por favor léanlo， si este año se llega a publicar la traducción voy a ponerme muy contenta）， y este no me causó el mismo efecto。Este poema， Dart， va recorriendo el río， desde donde nace hasta el mar， a través de diferentes personas que se vinculan con él: caminantes， industriales， nadadores， pescadores， buscadores de oro， adolescentes， naturalistas， marinos。Creo que es lo primero que leo que me descentra de la situación cuarentena-coronavirus， （últimamente todo lo que leo， veo， escucho， etc， aunque sea sobre cualquier otra cosa， parece que hablara de eso） y me llevó la mente a un río， gracias Alice， muy necesario。 El poema muestra todo lo que contiene el río， todos los mundos de los que es el centro， todo lo que se puede ver en él: el río para alguien es la composición del agua， para otro está en los paisajes que conforma， para otros en los animales que lo habitan -salmones， focas， cangrejos， anguilas-， para otros es un lugar de encuentro， o parte de la historia personal， parte de la historia nacional， o incluso de la historia mítica。 Aparecen todas las formas posibles de habitarlo -y de morir en él。 La idea es genial， me recordó a Raimondi y sus poemas sobre el mar （pero engordado =P）。Ahora bien， todo el trabajo con la oralidad， con las diferentes formas de hablar de cada una de estas posiciones o personajes particularmente a mí se me perdieron un poco， por el idioma （creo que hay que tener una cercanía muy grande con el idioma para captar algunas sutilezas o para que te remitan a todo lo que le debe remitir a un nativo）。 Culpo a esa dificultad de que a veces se me hiciera un poco denso （aunque no: es un poco denso）。 Las mejores partes son las más poéticas。Me encantó la historia de cómo unos troyanos， liderados por un descendiente de Eneas que tuvo que exiliarse porque mató al padre， salieron navegando siguiendo una visión según la cual tenían que llegar a un lugar donde pudieran meter la mano y sacar un salmón， así llegaron al Dart y Bruto de Troya fundó Gran Bretaña， Ö。 。。。more
Carla
，
Dart is an accomplished narrative poem， a well-wrought， well-told story about the river Dart in southwest England。 Oswald follows the length of the river， using the voices of different characters as metaphors for the river itself。 In a short preface Oswald says that "All voices should be read as the river's mutterings。" The poem - unlike most rivers - stayed a bit too much within its banks。 The river is recognizable as a too well-worn narrative of a certain historical moment in a certain place i Dart is an accomplished narrative poem， a well-wrought， well-told story about the river Dart in southwest England。 Oswald follows the length of the river， using the voices of different characters as metaphors for the river itself。 In a short preface Oswald says that "All voices should be read as the river's mutterings。" The poem - unlike most rivers - stayed a bit too much within its banks。 The river is recognizable as a too well-worn narrative of a certain historical moment in a certain place in time。 There is very little tension between Dart as a river， a geological formation with an ice-age heritage that carries water drained from a watershed to the sea and Dart as an English river full of water nymphs， naturalists in khakis， swimmers down from school， and the stock commercial fisherman even appearing as a poacher。Yet， there were also moments of reading with a big-joyful smile or the silence of recognition， the words and rhythm so evocative of a moment in my own life that the poem recast my memories and created new ones。A recast memory， the archetypal English naturalist: I let time go as slow as moss， I standand try to get the dragonflies to landtheir gypsy-colored engines on my hand。 A new one， the dairy worker:and all the latest equipment， all stainless steel so immaculate you can see your soul in it， in a hairnet， in white overalls and safety shoes。 。。。more
Nicole
，
It was a good time。
Elin
，
an achievement of a long poem
Lara
，
Simply beautiful。 I loved the sparseness and purity of her work in this piece; and somehow she succeeds in bringing different voices in without losing the over-riding atmosphere， tone and the sense of a 'maturing' river flow。 An incredibly well structured and clever poem。 Simply beautiful。 I loved the sparseness and purity of her work in this piece; and somehow she succeeds in bringing different voices in without losing the over-riding atmosphere， tone and the sense of a 'maturing' river flow。 An incredibly well structured and clever poem。 。。。more
Marta Lo
，
Alice Oswald habló durante tres años con cualquiera que quisiera contarle su experiencia con el río Dart。 Todo aquel que vive en Devon， al sur de Inglaterra， tiene algo que decir de su río， y Oswald fue uniendo relato a relato para escribir este libro， que ganó el premio T。 S。 Eliot en el año 2002。Lo que diferencia este libro de otros muchos no solo es la temática， dedicándose por completo a un río， sino la mezcla que hace de prosa y verso， de manera que crea un equilibrio que， a medida que se v Alice Oswald habló durante tres años con cualquiera que quisiera contarle su experiencia con el río Dart。 Todo aquel que vive en Devon， al sur de Inglaterra， tiene algo que decir de su río， y Oswald fue uniendo relato a relato para escribir este libro， que ganó el premio T。 S。 Eliot en el año 2002。Lo que diferencia este libro de otros muchos no solo es la temática， dedicándose por completo a un río， sino la mezcla que hace de prosa y verso， de manera que crea un equilibrio que， a medida que se va leyendo， va teniendo cada vez más sentido。 Es verdad que en un primer momento esto es chocante para el lector， pero después la lectura va fluyendo como la corriente de un río。 Así， el texto va pareciendo cada vez más agua， da la sensación de viajar por encima de él， suavemente， y te vas dejando arrastrar por las palabras de Oswald。 Además， la autora da voz a todos aquellos que quisieron aportar su experiencia a su libro， y mezcla todas las voces a lo largo del texto。Otra característica de este texto， que me ha maravillado y que no he visto en otros libros， es que la propia autora va haciendo apuntes a un lado， dándonos información importante de algunas partes del libro。 Estas aportaciones no hacen más que enriquecer aún más si cabe el texto， y lo hacen más interesante。Es curioso cómo el ser humano necesita siempre la ayuda de la naturaleza para poder continuar su vida。 No solo se describe en este libro la importancia del agua del río， los animales que viven dentro y fuera de ella y gracias a ella， sino también su uso en la vida cotidiana por las personas。 Un ejemplo es la descripción que hace en la primera mitad del libro sobre cómo usan el agua del Dart para lavar lana de oveja， para luego teñirla （otra vez con algo de ayuda del agua）， y con ella crear ropa de abrigo。 Otro uso del agua del Dart era enfriar la leche， ya que el agua bajaba fría de la montaña。Este libro me ha resultado distinto a otros en muchos sentidos。 Yo buscaba leer algo de poesía， pero， aunque en cierta manera no ha cumplido está expectativa， me ha aportado mucho más de lo que creía en un primer momento。 Ha sido una grata lectura， toda una sorpresa que no esperaba para nada。 。。。more
Jason
，
Requires concentration as， unlike the river， it doesn’t flow easily。 That said， there are some truly wonderful， inspiring lines that make for an admirable project。
Charlotte Jones
，
I don't often read or listen to poetry but I was drawn to this one as it is a portrait of Devon， a part of the country that fascinates me and where some of my partner's family live。Alice Oswald narrates the audiobook herself which really helps with the flow of the poems。 Each poem is from the point of view of a different Devonian "character"， whether it be a person or a feature of the landscape， all of them revolving around the river。I really enjoyed this collection but I find it difficult to fu I don't often read or listen to poetry but I was drawn to this one as it is a portrait of Devon， a part of the country that fascinates me and where some of my partner's family live。Alice Oswald narrates the audiobook herself which really helps with the flow of the poems。 Each poem is from the point of view of a different Devonian "character"， whether it be a person or a feature of the landscape， all of them revolving around the river。I really enjoyed this collection but I find it difficult to fully connect to poetry。 Having said that， this collection completely evoked the mythical and eerie sense of Devon that brings the magic of the place to life。 It is a beautiful part of England but harsh in different weather extremes; Oswald captures this perfectly through her poems and I got a real sense of place through listening。Overall， I would recommend this collection。 As with many collections， I feel like I would get more out of it upon a reread but on the whole this was a very enjoyable and atmospheric collection。3 out of 5 stars！ 。。。more
Catherine Noske
，
I was fascinated by this。 Strange and very beautiful， but also unsettling at moments。。。
Katrine Solvaag
，
A stunning poetic creation。
Ema
，
and all the latest equipment， all stainless steel so immaculate you can see your soul in it
Sarah Meehan
，
I loved the river-like nature of it with the ebbs and flows
✨ jamieson ✨
，
Alice Oswald interviewed and recorded people who lived and worked on the River Dart in England， and turned the stories into this poem。 I loved the use of language in this。 It's playful and often beautiful with vivid descriptions。 such deep woods it feels like indoors and then you look down and see it's raining on the River"it sank like a feather falls。 not quite in full possession of its weight"The linking of the environment with the people who needed it for survival and how the river has intera Alice Oswald interviewed and recorded people who lived and worked on the River Dart in England， and turned the stories into this poem。 I loved the use of language in this。 It's playful and often beautiful with vivid descriptions。 such deep woods it feels like indoors and then you look down and see it's raining on the River"it sank like a feather falls。 not quite in full possession of its weight"The linking of the environment with the people who needed it for survival and how the river has interacted with people through space， time and literature was also interesting。 I think this was such a great concept for a long-form poem and Oswald really brought the river and its inhabitants for life for me。 Poetry isn't really my *thing* but I did enjoy this one a lot and if you like poetry you'd probably love it 。。。more
Marcus Hobson
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I am always fascinated by the many and varied way in which one comes to a book。 In the case of ‘Dart’ it was for two reasons。The first is my interest in my river and its place in native Māori stories。 A Māori custom is to introduce oneself using a ‘pepeha’ – in that you start by locating yourself in the world by naming your mountain （‘maunga’）， your river （‘awa’） and your waka （the canoe by which you arrived in New Zealand）。 After that you talk of ancestors by tribe and there are rules over the I am always fascinated by the many and varied way in which one comes to a book。 In the case of ‘Dart’ it was for two reasons。The first is my interest in my river and its place in native Māori stories。 A Māori custom is to introduce oneself using a ‘pepeha’ – in that you start by locating yourself in the world by naming your mountain （‘maunga’）， your river （‘awa’） and your waka （the canoe by which you arrived in New Zealand）。 After that you talk of ancestors by tribe and there are rules over the use of father’s or mother’s ancestry。 I am no expert， I am learning， but I do love the connection between the people of the land （the ‘whenua’） and their mountain and river。 It is at the heart of our attempts to restore our landscape and keep if free from pollution。I would very much like to tell the story of the Aongatete River onto which my home has a boundary and from which I draw my drinking water。 I am， just as the Māori of the past， invested in the health of the water for my （and my family’s） life and well being。 Some of our major rivers have been given the status of legal entity in the laws of the country and so I am fascinated to protect and tell the story of my own river。 The word for what we want and need is ‘kaitiakitanga’ – guardianship or stewardship to protect our precious river。This project has been brewing in my mind for some time now。 Then I heard about this book， and how it had been an inspiration for Max Porter’s Lanny， which is a book that speaks loudly to me and which I love。 So， there are the two elements in my journey to be holding a copy of Dart。The river Dart forms the boundary between the counties of Devon and Cornwall in western England， and was somewhere I visited often in my childhood。 I have my own deep memories of the places， and then I have others of some of the flora and fauna。 There is mention of the Dipper， a small bird that lives on the fast flowing rivers of Western Europe， dipping below the surface of the water to catch small insects and then standing on the stones mid-stream making its characteristic movement of bobbing up and down。 Throughout my life I would visit a river close to where my aunt lived to see the Dippers。 I did not see them on the river Dart， but as soon as you mention the bird I am transported to exactly the sort of river on which they live – fast flowing and full of rocks。This book is a wonderful mix of poetry and prose using voices。 The people of the river give it voices。 The walker， the boatmen， the poachers， the workers in the dairy that uses the water， the ferryman， the workers in the woolen mill， the dry stone waller who selects the right shaped stones from out of the river。 All these different people give the river a narrative。 The words of those who use the river in so many different ways。At some points there are descriptions of the river:“one step-width waterof linked stonestrills in the stonesglides in the trillseels in the glidesin each eel a fingerwidth of sea”At other times， it is the things that are taken out of it:“You get upriver stones and downriver stones。 Beyond Totness bridge and above Longmarsh the stones are horrible grey chunks， a waste of haulage， but in the estuary they’re slatey flat stones， much darker， maybe it’s to do with the river’s changes。 Every beach has its own species， I can read them， volcanic， sedimentary， red sandstones， they all nest in the Dart， but it’s the rock that settles in layers and then flakes and cracks that gives me my flat walling stone。”The book is a journey along the Dart through the eyes and the jobs of the people that work it， use it and inhabit its shores， their voices combining to give it a narrative， a voice and a history。 Bringing the river to life， but at the same time describing the life it brings。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Dart
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Dart&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Dart&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0