Extracts from selected reviews.
journeys especially are caught vividly, but there is also poignant social comment.
Beautifully produced as one would expect from NHI. ... Exceptional imagery and a fine economy of words ... A collection I'm happy to own.
NEGATIVE/NOT NEGATIVE is one of the best poems in the booklet. Mr. High has a cold fascination with Russia as shown in some of these lines — The grey light seeps into one's bones, — The sky glares down like a constant question. — The comparison of rooks and stars is well observed, but the last three lines sum up the poem beautifully — ..The Russians are a grey people,// living in the thin penumbra... — As a whole, WOLF ON THE THIRD FLOOR is an accomplished body of work, with certain lines that ring and echo in one's head. Each poem reveals a little more of itself at every reading. There is the added interest of Mr. High's introspective views of Russia — a land strange and forbidding to most of us. It is a startling collection on an unfamiliar theme.
This is poetry of remarkable quality, enriched with metaphorical detail and assonant balance of word and phrase; cadence is appropriately linked to change of mood and situation. There is lyricism in Graham High's poetry, whether in rhyming stanzas or in those poems which adhere to no particular verse-form, and I most readily and unreservedly give this fine publication the thumbs-up. It is a truly commendable collection.
contains some very graphic descriptions of contemporary Russia. The landscapes on train journeys especially are caught vividly, but there is also poignant social comment.
High is quite capable of understanding a foreign consciousness, and rendering it in verse — not an easy task. I'll be on the lookout for more from Graham High in the future.
Although cold to touch, many of the poems transcend the narrative, revealing the warm undercurrent of the poet's affections, like the excellent 11 page UKRAINE HONEYMOON where the newley-weds leave Moscow by train. "Filigree silver round the glass/ chatters your teeth as we take tea/ in the wind, watching the suburbs pass/ The vodka-sodden guard smelling of piss/ peered down your blouse as he gushed hot water/ from the samovar with lascivious hiss". and we follow them all the way as they struggle with ghosts of the past and temptations of the present as they rattle through fabulous landscapes that sing and come alive with the poet's deft touch. A gem of a read.
This collection combines elements of a good travel book with a mysterious hint of LeCarre.
an exceptional collection of poems, each one a little gem in itself, but like a song cycle taking us on a journey... No review can do full justice to the high quality and absorbing content of this book. No one who risks their £4.50 will be disappointed - like me you will want to read it again and again - for each time new pleasures will be discovered.
High's work is honest, intelligent, and tender. He loves and is intimidated by the hard-bitten Russia he evokes so feelingly in these formidable poems.
There is much beauty and intelligence in this poetry. I found myself wondering if Graham High could have any Russian ancestry, since there is a feel in some of the work of Osip Mandelstam and of that indefinable sense inadequately describable as a "Russian soul". The depth and subtlety in this collection is satisfying.
I enjoyed the leisurely pace and the stark uncluttered phrasing.
The whole book has the feel of a novel. The individual poems merge to tell a complete story; of love on the move, through the varied sights and sounds of a still rather mysterious and alien place called Russia. … It is clever stuff, and very well written … I highly recommend this book: it is contemporary poetry at its best.
QUOTES FROM REVIEWS OF PREVIOUS COLLECTIONS
Ravens of Unresting Thought (Outposts, 1975)
“An outstanding poet” - John R. Tapia, Vice Chancellor IAP, Now Magazine
Attempts To Love (Athenaeum Books, 1977)
A really major poetic talent in the making” - Ed Baumgartner, Orbis
No Turning Back (Ram, 1986)
G.H. is the amanuensis for the exploited earth” - Mary Gladstone, Poetry Review
QUOTES FROM REVIEWS OF HAIKU COLLECTIONS
“Graham High is a prolific haiku poet, with four previous haiku collections. This one contains well over 100 haiku and once again demonstrates this poet’s originality of perception and careful observation of the natural world.”
“A distinctly individual voice and a sure poetic touch.”
“Graham High’s poetic talent is revealed in these haiku based on impromptu observation that gives rise to an instantaneous inspiration. This form of poetic inspiration is far more telling than the static ‘snapshot’ approach. The skill that Graham High brings in forming his haiku is all the more telling for being discreet. I thoroughly recommend this book to all haiku poets; there is much to be learnt from it and all the haiku are greatly enjoyable”
“…fabulous collection ... Leaves you with a strange mixture of feelings just as a haiku should”
“An admirable simplicity of style is found in many of the poems: I especially like the haiku where the poet is seen to empathize with, and become part of, his surroundings”