All Just, the latest collection of poetry by David Herd, Professor of Modern Literature in the School of English, has been described as ‘one of the few truly necessary works of poetry written on either side of the Atlantic in the past decade’ by the Los Angeles Review of Books. Placing Herd’s work in both the British and American poetic traditions, the LARB’s reviewer, Lytton Smith, writes:
“All Just is an important book … because it seeks a kind of active citizenship from its readership, an ambition that speaks volumes for Herd’s faith in poetry at a time when the mode is too often and too lazily dismissed.”
The Los Angeles Review of Books is at the forefront of contemporary literary discussion and the publication of this review brings further international recognition to Herd’s second volume of poetry, the book having already received critical acclaim in Britain, Australia and the USA.
Set against the backdrops of Dover and London, All Just’s subject is the divisive politics of modern citizenship. Working serially across the collection, the book’s poems test and address the contemporary languages that shape and restrict human movement and intimacy. As leading Australian reviewer Ann Vickery wrote:
‘All Just is a wonderful collection because it has poetry that does what many do not, meditating upon the long-term nature of a ‘holding place’ in which to live’.
Head of School, Peter Brown says, ‘The School of English at Kent has a fast-growing reputation as an exciting and dynamic hub for poetry production, performance and cross-genre events and festivals. Our Centre for Modern Poetry is creating new audiences for poetry and, in the case of All Just, provoking discussion about what it means to be a citizen.’
David Herd will inaugurate ‘Print Screen’, a new series of public lectures, readings, screenings and performances at the University of Westminster’s Institute for Modern and Contemporary Culture on Tuesday 12 November. On Sunday 10 November he will appear at London’s South Bank Centre as part of the Royal Festival Hall’s ‘The Rest is Noise’ festival.