Beech Blurt

An 80-page volume, 18 x 11cm, printed on high quality card and paper, thread-

bound, illustrated with colour photography by the author; designed, produced (apart

from printing and binding) and published by him. The book is a second, revised

edition, published in 2025.

The book consists of a collection of poems observing and describing scenes of or

involving trees, woods and forests predominantly of beech. An autobiographical

preface explains the compelling experience of a childhood in a forest village home

surrounded by woodland dominated by beech trees, making an impression of

intensity and intimacy leading to an enduring fascination and life-long passion for the

species.

Romantic and enthusiastic propensities in the poetry are counterbalanced by

moments and passages of context, objectivity, humour and self-questioning.

Moreover, many other types of trees and wildlife make appearances along the way,

and plenty of the beeches featured are found in urban settings. The geographical

area encompasses most English counties and a few locations elsewhere in Britain

and Ireland, extending to several in Western Europe.

Composed in generally lucid and conventional language, the poetic structures and

forms range from classical scan and rhyme to free verse; the phraseology can be

quirky and the tone shifts among contrasting approaches and moods.