Beside Another Sea is David Lythgoe’s latest book of Poetry available here and other other bookshops
If you know David Lythgoe you will not be disappointed by this book of over a hundred poems. Simply read on. But if you’re tasting his work for the first time, with no spoilers, let me give you an idea of what you’re holding in your hand.
I have known David for many years. I have found him to be a quiet, self-effacing man. In consequence his writing in these poems offers an insight to a sensitive, reflective personality who, through this medium, has been able to give expression to emotion, to impressions, sometimes with humour, yet equally able to voice the grief born of love and loss.
David has won awards for his writing and our reward is this gift which I sense has been gestating for some time. His subject matter often quarries memory. He unearths feelings as much as facts. Often the description of a remembered scene becomes a metaphor for life’s conundrums. His poetry frequently spans personal thoughts, yet he is never sentimental. Often the poems originate in a particular context – a holiday, a shared experience with his wife, lockdown and the unexpected sound of birds singing, the waves of the sea or some other pattern of nature. Much of the writing is observational, reminiscent sometimes of the poetry of R.S. Thomas. David is compassionate while the narrative of his verse occasionally twists offering a political slant.
His background enables him to merge a travelogue with classical literary, and scientific linguistic devices.
From the Preface – Andrew Pratt
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