The River in the Sky

The River in the Sky is a single book-length poem by Clive James that reflects on his final moments of life with wisdom, erudition, and good humor. Despite being close to death for several years, James wrote about his experience in a series of deeply moving poems, presenting a flowing stream of vivid images and tackling the biggest questions about life and how to live it. The book is praised for its exceptional depth and feeling.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 128 pages
Publication date: 01 September 2022
Publisher: Pan Macmillan

"The River in the Sky" is a remarkable book-length poem that captures Clive James' final moments of life with the wisdom, erudition, and good humor that defined his extraordinary career.

For several years, Clive James battled illness and was nearing death. He expressed his experience through a series of deeply moving poems in this volume. Despite his physical confinement to his Cambridge home, his mind remained free to roam.

On a grand tour of the fragile treasures of his life, James is animated by powerful recollections. He presents a flowing stream of vivid images, moving from emotionally resonant personal moments, such as listening to jazz records with his future wife, to unforgettable encounters with various cultures. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony sits alongside YouTube's vast cosmopolis.

James shares his passions with enormous generosity, making brilliant, original connections and fearlessly tackling the biggest questions: the meaning of life and how to live it. In the end, what emerges from this autobiographical epic is a soaring work of exceptional depth and feeling.

The River in the Sky is superb, an epic lament, written in late life, filled with exact and moving observations about life and culture. The New York Times praised it as "a soaring work of exceptional depth and feeling."

Clive James, a multifaceted talent, was a broadcaster, critic, poet, memoirist, and novelist. His acclaimed poetry includes the collection "Sentenced to Life" and a translation of Dante's "The Divine Comedy," both Sunday Times bestsellers. His passion for and knowledge of poetry are distilled in his book of criticism on the subject, "Poetry Notebook," and, written in the last year of his life, his personal annotated anthology of favorite poems, "The Fire Of Joy."

Praise for Clive James: He will be seen, I think, as one of the great literary figures of our time.

Weight: 168g
Dimension: 130 x 196 x 13 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781509887248