David Charleston's poetry is distinguished by an elegance and poise not always found in writing as spare as his; by how it tends to keep its distance, only for a word or phrase to focus sharply and catch a reader off guard; by accuracy and economy; by nudges of humour and irony; and by closing lines which both move us and leave us room to move:
" I only miss those times
when we were young enough
to be old friends"
- Robert Etty

Whether he's putting out the garbage late at night in a condo in Miami or doing another book fair somewhere in East Anglia, David Charleston's always good company. His attractive poems mix satire and sympathy, blend wry idealism with civilised stoicism.
- Michael Laskey

David Charleston's best poems are beautiful and intelligent moments . . . Some poets seem to write poems as if their careers depended on it, rather than their lives. On the other hand, some poets write only when it's really necessary. If you don't know what that means, a glance at David Charleston's poems may enlighten you.
- Martin Stannard

Jardine Press 1999
48 pages
135mm x 215mm
ISBN 0 9525594 7 1
SOLD OUT

list with images    list without images