Peter Bennet, a poet deeply rooted in the landscapes of Northumberland, England, possesses a remarkable ability to weave the specificities of place and history into poetry that resonates with universal themes. His collection, Nayler & Folly Wood: New & Selected Poems, published by Bloodaxe Books in 2023, serves as a compelling retrospective of his work, offering readers a rich exploration of time, space, and the human connection to the environment. Bennet’s poetry, as highlighted in a review by Daniel A. Rabuzzi, transcends regional boundaries, inviting readers to contemplate broader concepts through the lens of his meticulously observed Northumberland.
Bennet’s journey to poetry was unconventional, beginning his artistic career as a painter before turning to verse at the age of 40. Despite this late start, he has become a significant voice in contemporary British poetry, earning accolades and publishing seven collections, including one shortlisted for the prestigious T.S. Eliot Prize. Nayler & Folly Wood is particularly valuable as it gathers poems from across his career, making his work accessible to a wider audience, especially those outside the United Kingdom who may be less familiar with his oeuvre. Bloodaxe Books, known for bridging divides in the poetry world, plays a crucial role in bringing Bennet’s nuanced and regionally specific poetry to an international readership, fostering a dialogue with poets across the Atlantic and beyond. Indeed, Bennet’s work invites comparison with American poets who similarly explore place and memory, such as Marianne Boruch, Natasha Trethewey, and W.S. Merwin, suggesting a shared poetic terrain despite geographical differences.
One of the defining characteristics of Peter Bennet’s poetry is its deep engagement with Northumbrian history. He meticulously anchors his poems in the region’s past, providing scholarly endnotes that illuminate the historical figures and events that inspire his verse. Figures like James Nayler, the 17th-century Quaker evangelist, and George Ripley, the 15th-century alchemist, become points of entry into historical narratives reimagined through Bennet’s poetic vision. His use of archival material, incorporating dialogue and commentary from historical sources, creates a layered text that blends found poetry with insightful meta-commentary. These notes, far from being mere academic additions, enrich the reading experience, offering glosses on Latin quotations, biblical references, and intertextual connections, such as in “Landscape with Psyche,” which draws upon sources ranging from Pierre Corneille to Apuleius and Claude Lorraine.
The landscapes depicted in Nayler & Folly Wood are not merely backdrops but are vividly rendered, lived-in spaces that the reader experiences alongside Peter Bennet. Reading his poems feels akin to walking the Northumbrian terrain with the poet, traversing Wanney Crags, Hareshaw Linn, and the Duddo Stones. His language is precise and evocative, capturing the textures and rhythms of the land: “sheep-wracked hill,” “lichened balustrade,” “hills where winds are sharp and several.” Bennet’s vocabulary is deeply rooted in the local vernacular, employing words like “scran,” “lough,” and “whinstone,” lending an authenticity and immediacy to his descriptions. He meticulously names the flora and fauna, from curlews to “stalk-stiff bulrushes,” grounding the poems in the tangible reality of the natural world and highlighting the long-standing interplay between human activity and the shaping of the landscape.
However, Peter Bennet’s Northumberland is not a static, idyllic pastoral scene. He masterfully layers folklore and fantasy onto the physical reality of the landscape, creating a sense of liminality that reflects the region’s history as a contested borderland. Northumberland, positioned between Scotland and England, and historically a site of cultural and political exchange, becomes in Bennet’s poetry a space where past and present, myth and reality, constantly intersect. This sense of being “betwixt and between” is further emphasized by the juxtaposition of Germanic root-words with Latinate borrowings, questioning the very notion of rootedness and belonging. References to classical mythology – Erato, Calliope, nymphs – mingle with contemporary details – a rucksack, spaghetti carbonara, telephones – creating deliberate anachronisms that underscore the layered and multifaceted nature of place.
Ultimately, Peter Bennet’s poetry in Nayler & Folly Wood demonstrates how a deep and unwavering focus on the local can illuminate the universal. His meticulous observation of Northumberland, its history, and its landscape becomes a pathway to exploring broader human experiences of time, memory, and our connection to the world around us. He dedicates the collection to the “Wilds o’ Wanney” and Newcastle’s Morden Tower, a significant venue for poetry readings, highlighting his commitment to place-based poetry and community. Just as the Morden Tower has long welcomed American poets, Bennet’s work, deeply rooted in its specific locale, offers profound insights and resonant beauty for readers everywhere, making Nayler & Folly Wood a collection deserving of a wide and appreciative audience in the Americas and beyond.
