Gregory Woods

"The poet with the sharpest technique for social verse in Britain today"--Peter Porter

"Probably, the finest gay poet in the United Kingdom ... a poet of considerable technical ability and intellectual depth"--Sinead Morrissey

"What an enviable talent Gregory Woods has"--Thom Gunn

"I have read Gregory Woods' poems with real excitement"--Sir Stephen Spender

"Woods is a poet whose thinking is razor-sharp, his wit highly inventive, his sense of history acute, his narratives finely sculpted, his feelings deeply sourced"--Matt Simpson

Welcome to my website.

I want to use it to post information about my poetry and literary criticism, but also about my career as an academic and teacher. As it develops, I’ll be using it to showcase new poetry and short critical essays, and to post news about forthcoming publications and public appearances.

DEATH OF RIMBAUD

Sometimes he calls me Djami. Tenderly,
remotely. I respond with what his tone
seems to require by way of comradeship.
A damp cloth on the forehead, soothing words,

respectful silence. Silence above all.
The hand I feel him squeeze may not be mine,
but my attentiveness invites him to go on
elaborating his delirium.

A sister's love, boiled down to little but
the comfort of familiarity,
succeeds the intellect it came before.

The eyes he sees me with see someone else,
but love transcends identity, and life
is more than just another passing phase.



[(c) Gregory Woods, 2007]