Quickself ~ the birth of a poet

About the Author
Joe Winter was born in London in 1943 and began writing poetry at the age of 19. He taught English in secondary schools in London from 1967 to 1993 and between 2006 and 2011. He lived in Calcutta from 1994 to 2006 where he taught part-time as well. His poems have been published by Writers Workshop, India in a series of 18 volumes. Many of his articles have appeared in The Statesman, Calcutta. He lives in Brighton.

Teaser

In his introductory note to the book, Winter writes:

“This poem was written almost entirely in the 1960s. It was a maze of scraps, single lines, disconnected phrases, verses, semi-sections; and at the time the theme was not clear. I thought it was about “growing up”. It stayed buried in three folders for its separate parts for over forty years. Neither the poem itself nor any part had a title. When at last I looked into the folders again, resolved to make them justify their existence or be gone, the various titles and subtitle came to me, and the whole thing fell into place. It was as if I had been working on the jigsaw for many years. Some material was scrapped, some new invention was needed. Now at last I am liberated from it, and it from me.”

Contents
The Dark House / 11
Blind Alley / 45
Outside / 54