‘What is contained in this book is a collection that responded to moments in time, or urges to express desperation, or are a simple observation of sometimes everyday experiences and aspirations that I yearn for. Hopefully they will sometimes gladden you, the reader, and on others annoy you, or make you sorrowful, and maybe through a couple of examples, terrify the life in you.’
Waiting Spaces: A Collection of Poems Describing our Life’s Thoughts, Feelings and Experiences covers an impressive total of seventy-eight pieces of poetry by the Irish-born poet, David Hollywood; each ranges in length from a few lines to much longer pieces.
As a reader, my initial impressions focused on the simplicity of the poetry. Sometimes, the rhyming patterns involve a basic a-b, a-b or ab-ab style, although this is by no means indicative of the whole book. Personally, I absolutely loved this element as it emphasises a key aspect of why I enjoyed the essence of this book.
Namely, it is easy to read. It allows – and effortlessly draws – the reader into the mind of the poet’s thinking and expression, something which always personally alerts me towards the skill of the writer. For me, this is summed up in one of the two essays written at the beginning of the book, one focusing on the question of ‘What is Poetry?’ and another asking ‘Is Poetry the Poor Relative of Prose?’ In the latter introductory essay, David Hollywood creates a poem which I found to be very poignant and reflective of the book ahead.
What has happened to worn chairs and wooden tables?
With a carafe of wine and old oranges,
In a garden together with friends,
Who greet you with their welcome,
And support of each other.
It belongs to some other time!
Imagine a walk through a thin wood,
To the edge of a rise,
To discover the finest of views in the morning,
Finding dew in the middle of your thoughts,
And the sun has already started to warm.
At the end I should love the world to be elegant!
To know that my company was anticipated,
Enough to say ‘good day’,
Fine manners and good behaviour,
With the best of company,
And only that which is true and noble.
And nothing of these times!
The carefree world that the opening lines create sum up the essence of this collection of poetry, for each poem holds a tone which suggests not someone preaching their intensive views to an audience, but rather the gentle voices of friends meeting in a relaxed, tranquil setting, sharing thoughts and laughter over a glass of fine wine and enjoying the company of kindred souls. As such, everything is easy to understand and relate to. At no point does the reader wonder where they are, what is happening and why.
Ultimately, creating poetry appearing to be so simple and straight-forward perhaps runs the criticism from some quarters of lacking literary skill or craft. Certainly not so here, for David Hollywood’s words shine out from every piece, ranging from the shorter, four-line creations, such as ‘Past Tomorrows’ and ‘Traffic Jams’ (‘When driving in Dublin…Avoid the Quickest routes…Because they always take you…Down the slowest streets’), to longer pieces such as ‘Youths for Profits, Without Sin’, covering a wide range of thoughts and emotions, including poetry involving the complexities of love and romance, towards more philosophical and contemplative topics.
Again, within each poem, David Hollywood’s inner voice is loud, yet never overbearing…deep, yet never remote, and, as previously stated, best consumed in the company of one’s finest allies, easily inspired by exposure to excellent poetry.
Waiting Spaces: A Collection of Poems Describing our Life’s Thoughts, Feelings and Experiences may be one of the longer titles we’ve covered here at Ink Pantry, but ultimately this collection delivers – doing exactly what it says on the tin.