In the Country of Birds

Sutherland Smith James

These poems are the fruit of estrangement, in particular from origins. They draw on James Sutherland Smith's experiences of life in the Middle East and Middle Europe; what is most strange, they tell us, is not to be found in exotic locales, but close to home. The poems travel through foreign and domestic parts. They venture into nature, politics, and the self-discoveries and self-deceptions of sexuality. They evoke the allurements of the strange and revulsion at its brutalities. A poem may begin as a purposeful quest but find its meaning in falling by the wayside. It may set out in full possession of its wits and end the journey distracted and unsure. All the poems are marked by a fascination with language and are alive to the textures of the world.

About the Author

James Sutherland-Smith was born in Aberdeen in 1948 and was educated at Leeds University. He set up the first Creative Writing Course in English in Central Europe, using writers from Britain and Ireland. His work as a Peacekeeping Manager enabled him to experience first-hand the difficult era of transition in the Balkans particularly through his close contact and work with the armed forces of Serbia and Montenegro. His previous poetry collections include "A Singer from Sabiya" (1979), "Naming of the Arrow" (1980) and "At the Skin Resort" (1999). He has published two Carcanet collections, the most recent of which is "Popeye in Belgrade" (2008). James Sutherland-Smith and his wife Viera are the principal translators of Slovak poetry into English, with a number of collections of individual poets and three major anthologies published in Britain, America, Canada and Slovakia.

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