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KENNETH VERITY

Kenneth Verity’s English Literature tutor engendered in him a deep attraction to the works of Shakespeare and a sustained interest in the 4000 years old history of poetry. Working as a communications specialist, he travelled widely in the Far East, studying Buddhism with masters from Tibet, Thailand and Korea. He is an initiate of the Mevlevi Order of Whirling Dervishes in Turkey.

For many years he directed the Eastern Arts section of Art in Action in Oxfordshire. He also lectures and broadcasts. He is the author of three books of sonnets, The Spacious Mirror, The Unseen Reflection and Sonnets, and two books of haiku Awareness beyond Mind and Breathing with the Mind. Of his first book of sonnets Kingsley Amis wrote ‘They belong within the corpus of English poetry’.

Endorsements:

“Some guides to a subject could more or less be written by any expert in that field, but a small minority are unique creations of a rare individual who has their own view. Unfortunately most of the latter types of guides fail to be good general guides. Verity’s genius makes him the exception.

“This book is arranged in chronological chapters that trace the evolution of poetry as an art form. At the same time, each chapter gives a most practical explanation of how that aspect of poetry that it covers works and why.

“The book is immensely readable, hugely informative, and adds to the ability of the reader to enjoy and to create poetry. It is a classic.”
Epictetus, Amazon Review

“The amount of reading which underpins this book is breathtaking. The great merit of Verity’s approach is that he quotes lavishly throughout, not only from the poems themselves, but also from a variety of critics … The chapter on poetry’s figurative element is a model of lucid definition and telling illustration, showing how many layers of meaning may lie behind a single word.”
Library Reviews

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