MAP Poems After William Smith’s Geological Map of 1815

Name: MAP Poems After William Smith’s Geological Map of 1815 - Worple Press
Price: 10.00 GBP
Availability: InStock

£10.00

Two hundred years after the publication of the first geological map of an entire country, this groundbreaking anthology collects new work by over thirty poets inspired by William Smith, his revolutionary map, and the foundation of a science.

UK Shipping

UK Shipping

Letter 2nd Class £2.50
Small Parcel £3.99
Medium Parcel £6.50

International Shipping

Ireland

International Standard - Small Letter £6.60 - £10.10
International Standard - Medium Parcel £11.60 - 16.05

USA

International Standard - £6.60 - £16.16
International Standard - Medium Parcel - £39.20 - £76.00

International

International Standard - £6.60 - £15.00

There are poems in this anthology that tell the story of Smith’s genius and his misfortune; poems about fossil hunting and map making; poems about the drive of the Industrial Revolution and our continuing reliance on fossil fuels. They illustrate not only the vibrancy and variety of contemporary poetry but also poetry’s unique ability to take on uncharted territory with vision: the poems here make Smith’s map anew in moving and surprising ways.

INCLUDES NEW POEMS BY:

Stephen Boyce ● Alison Brackenbury ● James Brookes ● Andy Brown ● Alan Buckley ● Peter Carpenter ● John Wedgwood Clarke ● Jane Commane ● Elizabeth Cook ● Barbara Cumbers ● Jonathan Davidson ● Isobel Dixon ● Maura Dooley ● Sally Flint ● John Freeman ● Isabel Galleymore ● John Greening ● Philip Gross ● Alyson Hallett ● Ailsa Holland ● John McAuliffe ● Matt Merritt ● Helen Mort ● Andrew Motion ● David M. Orchard ● Mario Petrucci ● Kate Potts ● Peter Robinson ● Penelope Shuttle ● George Ttoouli ● Anthony Wilson

The Painted Soil

A map to pore over
time and again,
a country’s crust and strata,
layer, vein and pore.
Pure genius
and obsession
(which is part the same).
Poor William,
(black)Smith,
diamond in the rough,
the heights of Empire
did you wrong.
Your purloined map
earned pounds and praise
for others, but the copiers
were not on par.
Though stony broke,
sunk low,
ignored, you were the zenith
of the art you’d forged alone,
and made of sterner stuff.
O Papa Strata,
the limestone shines,
the chalky downs rejoice,
the ammonites applaud
your scrupulosity.
The swirling satellites concur.
Sheer cliffs and valleys
ripple, rainbow tints.
The smoky pastels,
moody delicates,
hum – quietly, meticulously,
down the centuries –
your Most Descriptive Names.
No doubt – we’re in your debt:
you tracer, with infinite care,
of telling seams,
unstinting atlasser,
bountiful engineer.

Isoben Dixon

Published: 02 April 2015
ISBN: 978 1 905208 32 6
Pages: 88

“an excellent anthology” – Under the Radar magazine

“I heartily recommend this anthology. For the geologist, the insights of (mostly) non-geologists are thought-provoking and insightful. For the poet, and the poetically inclined, this anthology is a model for the imaginative and poetic visualisation of landscapes, geological detail, historic incident and great characters. I congratulate Michael McKimm for his vision, his ability to assemble so much talent and his realisation of such an attractively produced volume with Worple Press.”

John Henry, Chair of the History of Geology Group. Read John’s full review here.

Read a review by Martin Noutch at London Grip magazine here.

Michael McKimm was born in Belfast and grew up near the Giant’s Causeway. A graduate of the Warwick Writing Programme, he won an Eric Gregory Award in 2007 and was an International Writing Fellow at the University of Iowa in 2010. HIs most recent poetry collection is Because we could not dance at the wedding (Worple, 2023), following Still This Need (Heaventree Press, 2009) and Fossil Sunshine (Worple, 2013). Or Land the Sea: a photo-poem, a geo-poetic collaboration with artist Julie Cuthbert, was published in 2024. Michael has also edited two anthologies of new poetry: MAP: Poems after William Smith’s Geological Map of 1815 (Worple, 2015) and The Tree Line: Poems for Trees, Woods & People (Worple, 2017). www.michaelmckimm.co.uk