Alan has recently completed a long poem, the provocative 'Mayakovsky's Bullet, Milton's Pen', and a set of short poems 'Swan and Other Poems'. Both are free to download as e-books here on the website.
Alan's poem
The Fourth King can be found on the
International Literary Quarterly Site.
Alan most recent book is
Doctor Placebo. Rob Mackenzie of
Magma Poetry says:
'The fictional Placebo is a doctor-poet and his learning encompasses literature, history, philosophy, theology and science. Spinoza, Nietzsche, Milton and Darwin are among the cast of thinkers who feed his ruminations and, somehow, Alan Wall pulls it off with a remarkably light touch. The poems deal with complex truths and are also highly entertaining. In the opening poem, The Doctor, Placebo reflects that historical fact may once have represented ground for certainty, but a modern mind-set opens up everything to doubt.'
A
.pdf extract from Doctor Placebo is available on the
Shearsman Books site.
Gilgamesh, Alan's previous book of poetry, consists of two long pieces set in the debatable lands of the past, present and myth. The title work is a translation and partial transposition of the Sumerian myth, while
Jacob mixes verse and prose to tackle another ancient story with enduring emotional and intellectual resonance. The first edition of Jacob was shortlisted for the Hawthornden Prize and chosen as a Book of the Year at the TLS.
A
.pdf extract from Gilgamesh is available on the
Shearsman Books site.
Alexander Pope at Twickenham is a collection of shorter pieces in which Alan Wall examines the perceptions of a number of old masters who have lived in and around London, including Pope, More, Johnson, Coleridge, Keats and Pound. The book also includes Lenses, which tells the story of the early astronomer Alexander Topcliffe and a cast of characters including the Greek satyr Marsyas.
A .pdf extract from Alexander Pope at Twickenham is available on the Shearsman Books site.
Read Alan's poem The Book of Jonah online at the excellent Bow-Wow Shop site.
Alan's poetry has appeared in Stand, PN Review, Agenda, The Spectator, BBC Wildlife Magazine, Outposts, Winnicott Studies, The Jewish Quarterly and Temporel.
