Rhapsody: A Manifesto by Alice Oswald review
A twisting, beguiling investigation into the art of poetry that ends in a call to arms on behalf of the natural world
TL;DR
- Alice Oswald's "Rhapsody: A Manifesto" is her first full-length book, exploring the art of poetry.
- The book combines Oswald's poetry, translations, and retellings of classical works, emphasizing the oral tradition.
- It features literary examples from Shakespeare, Donne, Shelley, Ted Hughes, Homer, and Aeschylus.
- Oswald explores the concept of 'rhapsody' and the essence of poetry in performance and the spaces between words.
- The book concludes with a call to arms on behalf of the natural world, identified as the source of poetry and existence.
- Oswald expresses disdain for scholars and academics, focusing on the living, spoken aspect of poetry.
- The review notes a lack of engagement with contemporary living poets and a tendency to use running rivers as a literary form.