Pity Redgrove's Wife?

I think not.

Praise Redgrove's Wife?

Why not?

Kiss n'snog Redgrove's Wife?

I dare not.

Be-jewel Redgrove's Wife?

With topaz and coral?

I will not.

Publish Redgrove's Wife?

I shall not.

(But I shall).

Forget Redgrove's Wife?

No, I have not.

Question Redgrove's Wife?

Not yet, not yet.

Confuse Redgrove's Wife?

I need not.

Fear Redgrove's Wife?

Oh fear not.

Dream of Redgrove's Wife?

Yes, night after night.

Translate Redgrove's Wife?

Why not,

she's not made of tin.

Amaze Redgrove's Wife?

Leave that to Redgrove.

Redgrove's Wife

Published in ‘Redgrove’s Wife’ (Bloodaxe Books, 2006)

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Redgrove’s Wife

By Penelope Shuttle. Published by Bloodaxe Books, 2006

‘Redgrove’s Wife’ is Penelope Shuttle’s ninth poetry collection and arguably her most important work in

a successful career as a poet spanning twenty-five years. In her first book with Bloodaxe we find Shuttle

at her most open and veridical. These are poems written during 2000-2005, a period when she lost two

of the closest people in her life: her father and her husband (the extraordinary poet Peter Redgrove).

These are closely worked poems of inventive force and occasional humour (essential to a collection

half-built on lament) delivered, against the odds, in a climate of a double bereavement. Overall,

‘Redgrove's Wife’ is a testament to Shuttle's creative dexterity and resourcefulness, confirming

her position in contemporary British poetry as a distinctive poet of dynamic imagination.

Please click here to see Penelope read her long poem ‘Missing You’ from ‘Redgrove’s Wife’.

After a year,

I put your black shoes out

for the re-cycler

Two pairs

Our walks go with them,

our days out,

our journeys

In the red casket of the bin

they wait as if for you,

but you’re as far away as Dad,

whose new widow

keeps his suede brogues

on guard in the glass porch

to scare off intruders

Peter’s Shoes

Published in ‘Redgrove’s Wife’  (Bloodaxe Books, 2006)

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Cornwall Contemporary Poetry Festival

Will be held in Falmouth, from Thursday 22

to Sunday 25 November 2018

Penelope Shuttle has made her home in Cornwall

since 1970 and the county’s mercurial weather and

rich history are continuing sources of inspiration.

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