This is a remarkable book.
A popular critic, especially of T.V on T.V, Clive James was also a lifelong critic, writer and lover of poetry. Increasing health problems saw him concentrate his remaining efforts on poetry. “The Fire of Joy” is his last writing.
The introduction explains that fire of joy derives from the French military rifle celebration of feu de joie. James uses the metaphor to evoke the successive heritage of English poets and poetry. He emphasises the rhythm and sound of poetry as well as being strong believer in reading aloud.
The book is a collection of eighty poems which were particularly memorable to James. They range in chronological order from the sixteenth century to contemporary verse. Each poem is accompanied by a short commentary. These are individual and subjective, but written from a lifetime of evolving understanding of the subjects. They display a passion for discussion of literature and writers. Some contain personal memory of the poets, others are mini essays. All are written with style and wit: he has a brief conversation with John Donne, of Emily Dickinson he says, “Shadows hold their breath when she speaks”, of Dylan Thomas’s approach to credit, “Equipped with the lightening reflexes of a champion sponge”, how Carol Ann Duffy creates, “the sound of a picture”.
James wrote the book from memory as he could not read by the time the project got underway. He had assistants, especially his daughter Claerwen. However, the circumstances and the content show a real determination and commitment to undertake and complete the project, which he did only a month before he died. This anthology is a spirited passing on of his love and enthusiasm for lyric verse. The epigram is dedicated, “To the next generation”.
To finish with a quotation from the introduction, “That line of fire that continues past you, leading into the distance, is as bound to continue as you are not. Creativity is the great mystery. Anyone can be destructive, but the capacity to build something will go on being the great human surprise.”
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