THE AUTHOR
ROBERT EDWARDS
A British writer who writes, designs and publishes his work — half being poetry, half prose — under the Burble imprint.
IN BRIEF
Robert Edwards was born in a central area of Sussex and grew up in a house surrounded by woodland, in a village of fields and farms and heath, at a corner of the Ashdown Forest. He has close connections with Brighton, by family background and in his own life. He has also lived in London and Sheffield. His early academic subject was philosophy; later, his MA in philosophical aesthetics included a dissertation on architecture. For many years he was heavily involved in civic and conservation societies. He regards his time working as an assistant in an academic library as effectively a formative and formidable education.
A FULLER ACCOUNT
Lambeth Bridge, it seems to me,
Leads to Sussex by the sea.
Here is a pier and a palace too
And an over-photographed view.
Bridge Bluster
____________
Under a towering confusion of trees,
The way is masked in a damp mosaic
Of leaves.
Beech Blurt
____________
The sea is an expanse of multifarious brilliant silver pulsations,
the waves muscular, fast and smooth.
Seaside Square
______________
Amid an emission of more than usually pungent smoke
infiltrating the passenger area, sparks shot forth from below
the rear seat and around my legs. My father saw no need for
panic. I saw every need for it.
Candour or Critique
_________________
She looked up from the book and spoke out with businesslike
directness, and as if directing the question to any or all of us:
“Is Father Christmas getting this?”
I did not hear the others’ replies, as I burst into laughter.
Verse Vendor
____________
As a British writer, Robert Edwards occupies an unusual and original place, in several respects. Not least of these is that he writes, designs and publishes his work, of which half is poetry, half prose. Produced for the most part outside the confines and culture of the poetry industry, his output nonetheless belongs comfortably in the mainstream traditions and practices of English verse and literature from the late Middle Ages to the present day.
Each poetry volume is singularly themed, is illustrated, and has an explanatory preface and informative contents list. The other books consist of a variety of journals and autobiography. His hope is that the books are durable, distinctive and entertaining.
The county of Sussex features prominently in several of the books, which have all been printed by the same family firm's studio, in a uniform general design and dimension, on card and paper of high quality, and almost all are thread-bound. Three of the volumes are in second, revised editions.
Each of these books is concerned with a particular and unifying theme of its own, while all share a principal, though not exclusive, focus on landscape, architecture and nature. Biographical, social and cultural elements in the subject matter tend to be historically or geographically orientated. The third and most recent prose work is a substantial volume of autobiographical essays - inquiring, wide-ranging and deeply individual
The forms vary between classical and free verse, and the style can be dramatic and comical or thoughtful and contemplative, the phraseology rhythmic, grammatical but often quirky.
Like the poetry, the journals are essentially descriptive, and again single-themed, one being an account of his operation of a pedlar's licence in Sussex towns and countryside; the other is the diary of a view from a coastal window – a joint work with paintings, drawings and sketches by the artist Dominic Sladden.
The third prose work is a volume of autobiographical essays – a substantial scheme in terms of content and quite unlike any of his other books.
Two new publications are planned to be published in 2026 and 2027 respectively.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Sussex & Beyond
The county of Sussex features prominently in several of the books. Photography by the author, from the Downs to the coast.
