Shadow and Refrain

Alex Wong's second collection, Shadow and Refrain, continues to explore the difficulty of frank expression in the more private nooks of day-to-day life, using long sentences that are designed to be read aloud for sensation. The book is driven to find curious routes into the centres of experiences that resist simpler articulation, and is troubled by the processes by which intimacy can be attained and lost. Some poems are imagined addresses to inaccessible friends, or engagements with significant places and objects.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 174 pages
Publication date: 27 May 2021
Publisher: Carcanet Press Ltd

Alex Wong's debut collection, "Poems Without Irony" (2016), is a remarkable work that refuses to take anything for granted, delving into the uniqueness of things and experiences. It challenges and defies generalizations, showcasing a profound skepticism towards the broader strokes. Elaine Feinstein praised the extraordinary new rhetoric in Wong's love poetry, while David Morley commended his linguistic finesse.

The second installment, "Shadow and Refrain," continues with similar themes and a tenacious syntax that persist until it has successfully captured its prey—the long sentences, sometimes spanning multiple stanzas, that demand to be read aloud to be fully appreciated. As the poet emphasizes, these poems are intended to be experienced through the mouth, generating sensations even if not fully voiced. Like its predecessor, this book grapples with the challenge of expressing oneself candidly in the more intimate corners of everyday life, driven to explore unconventional paths into the depths of experiences that resist simple articulation. Some poems take the form of imagined addresses to distant friends or engagements with significant places and objects. Intimacy is a recurring theme, explored through the examination of its attainment, loss, and the profound preoccupations it brings and leaves behind.

In conclusion, Alex Wong's "Poems Without Irony" and "Shadow and Refrain" are extraordinary collections that refuse to settle for the mundane. Through their meticulous exploration of language, themes, and experiences, they offer readers a profound and immersive journey into the complexities of human existence. These poems are designed to be experienced, not merely read, inviting us to engage with their words on a sensory level and to explore the depths of our own emotions and thoughts.

Weight: 226g
Dimension: 135 x 214 x 16 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781800170988