The North End of the Possible
Andrew Philip
Reviewed by Jennifer Wong
Published by Salt, Andrew Philip's second collection, The
North End of the Possible, is a bold experiment of form and persona.
Through the eyes of the enigmatic character MacAdam, we approach familiar
environments and scenarios in a new light, and explore the realms of our
unconscious. Conjuring a futuristic, surreal landscape with a delightfully
lyrical narrative and adventures with form, Philip's poetry offers a completely
new take towards modernity: a world of estrangement, ambivalence and bottled-up
emotions.
Throughout the collection, we are given very few clues on the
background or motives of the character MacAdam, but the mystery is the salient
and unifying theme, alongside carefully juxtaposed, idiosyncratic images, as we
observe the protagonist in unlikely situations: his surprisingly imaginative
replies that defy the expectations of the interrogator ('MacAdam's
Interrogation') and the anticipated destruction of his diary ('MacAdam Takes to
the Fire'). Altogether, the poems are imbued with a mixture of dark humour and
Beckett-style theatricality, as if the reader is only allowed to access a
certain moment of reality and not to dwell on the past or the future:
Marked by an imaginative, postmodern use of language and the
poet's attention towards craftsmanship, Philip's latest collection is a
profound questioning of ready-made meanings and definition of one's cultural
identity in the contemporary world.
Jennifer Wong is British-based poet born in Hong Kong.
Andrew Philip
Reviewed by Jennifer Wong
Our younger heads, cast in bronze by a
friend,
may occupy a prominent spot beside
your Dutch vase,
prevailing over the tinpot fears of
aging
as we recall fondly the days of cheap
paper,
inexpensive cotton and less heat.
('3. Shagreen')
Aye, but there's dark
and dark the dawn has marvelled at.
It's hidden from him yet, but MacAdam
must drive through with such a
gloom...
('MacAdam Takes to
the Sea')
Andrew Philip studied linguistics at the University of Edinburgh,
and his poems exude playfulness with poetic form and language(s), especially
the reinterpretation of dialect(s) in 'MacAdam Takes to the Sky', which is a
reflection on the natural characteristics and movements of birds. Given the
creative impetus of his language, his poetry displays surprising borrowings,
coinages and metaphors, such as 'edgeland', 'a kiln for happiness',
'terrorhope' and 'erasive', and adds a very fine texture to the poems. At
times, these experiments with language can border on being too elusive, but
such elusiveness is made up for by sophisticated resonance and fluidity.
Jennifer Wong is British-based poet born in Hong Kong.
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