{"product_id":"9781499096699","title":"Not Daffodils","description":"The first poem I remember writing was school work at the age of ten, about King Canute. The teacher, I think, felt like the King, unable to hold back the tide. The stanzas, like waves, kept coming. Later, English was my main subject in which I got a Degree. However, I chose to teach juniors rather than English at a higher level, perhaps fearing frustration? If anyone asked me the question they asked Mr. Chipping, I would have answered as he did “Hundreds of them—and all boys.” I had a memorable experience at a Summer School at Reading University when I recited two of my bereavement poems. “You won’t cry, will you?” the tutor asked me beforehand. “No”, I replied, “But they will”, I could have added with hindsight “Every cloud can have a silver lining”—yes, a good poem. It is good to make people laugh and I do like to, but I prefer the salt in tears—”crisps and salted peanuts rather than jelly or sweet biscuits at a party”. However, in “Not Daffodils”, I have, as it were, held a mirror to a known poem and reflect its beauty—as in “Lea-Creaver” and “Shut Out”—or, more often, humorously to distort it.","brand":"Xlibris UK","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47127024828656,"sku":"9781499096699","price":4.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781499096699_p0.jpg?v=1763706529","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781499096699","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}