I got into Clive James' poetry and critiques pretty late, even though I watched his TV shows as a kid. During the pandemic lockdown, I started reading his autobiography, and it was like comfort food. Despite the age gap, what he talked about resonated. Then I found "The Fire of Joy: Roughly 80 Poems to Get and Say Aloud."
I used to write poetry as a kid. Terrible stuff, really. You can check it out on my personal website if you must.
From school, I remember Wilfred Owen's "Dulce et Decorum Est," and 2 lines of Shakespeare. In my 20s, I thought I was a bit of a poet too and bought a few slim volumes. I went to see James Fenton at Waterstones in Leeds when he launched "Out of Danger". So, poetry's always been around.
But "The Fire of Joy" made me understand what I'd been missing about other people's poems. You have to "get it" before you can "say it out loud".
One thing that turns me off poetry is when people read it for the performance, without really getting it in their bones, soul, and heart. Maybe they don't even get it in their mind. I might be doing them a disservice.
Poetry isn't theatre. It's one person talking to another.
In his notes, Clive James' wit, and his knack for turning a negative into a critique, helped me get even the most obscure poem in the collection.
Even though he picked some famous poems, his reasoning is the same: Can you get this poem? Can you say it out loud? Especially after a couple of drinks when you're under the table.
So, I urge you to buy the book, read the poems, listen to Clive James as he helps you get them, and say them out loud.
On copyright, some poems in the book are still under copyright. I've used UK copyright rules to decide which poems to include on this site, and I haven't added any unless they're out of copyright. Where possible, I've linked to a poetry website that respects copyright. If not, you're on your own. You'll probably find all the poems online somewhere.
The poems in "Fire of Joy" are marked with a rifle. You can read the book to find out why. I've also added some other poems James mentions, like when he talks about Christina Rossetti. It's important to have access to those too.
There are thousands of poetry websites, and millions of poems on the web. This is my tribute to Clive James. As I think about retirement, I know poetry—reading, writing, studying, enjoying, getting, and saying aloud—will be a big part of it. I'd also like students of English and poetry to think about how to read poetry. I've made some notes on Clive James's ideas on that page. But again, buy the book.
Thinking about retirement, I'm also thinking about how Clive spent his last 10 years writing "The Fire of Joy" and new poetry books, reflecting on his life, illness, and approaching death. He celebrated all of it, knowing he'd lived a good enough life and that his family loved and forgave him because that's what love is.
If you'd like to say a poem out loud and record it, I'd love to hear it and maybe even share it on the website. Here are a few links to Clive reading his poems. It's important to understand what he meant by "get and say aloud".
Recordings will be audio only because it's about how we say the poem out loud, not about any physical performance.
Enjoy!
Jonny Holden