Overview
Exploring the capacity to articulate the pain and pleasure of lived experiences, this poetry collection is inspired by history and its aftermath. Touching upon the French Revolution, the Napoleonic wars, and the Peterloo Massacre, this compilation expresses interest in sharing in the lives of others across time and culture while simultaneously challenging common prejudices.Reviews
"Whale makes childhood strange and mythical. He is obsessed with the oddness of words and combines hyperbole and erudition in poems which plunder science and history to form their sparkling entertainments." —Carol Ann Duffy, poet, Answering Back
"I have admired John Whale's poetry for decades now and am very glad that the publication of Waterloo Teeth means other poetry lovers will be able to share the pleasure it has given me for so long." —Ian Duhig, poet
"Whether in the guillotine world of revolutionary France or deep in the sensation of sucking a sugar cube, these poems are full of interest and surprise. The texture of every poem is stirringly sensuous." —Jeffrey Wainwright, poet, Clarity of DeathAuthor Biography
John Whale is a professor of romantic literature at the University of Leeds in England and the coeditor of the international literary quarterly Stand. He is the author of Imagination Under Pressure, 1789–1832.