Featured poem - December/January 2009/10

This piece of writing was selected by the staff at the Scottish Poetry Library which receives Foundation funding from the Scottish Arts Council

Extract from The Hundred Thousand Places the rock in the water breaking the full weight of the flow produces melody  the rock by the water broken by bracken tormentil and heather releases colour Thomas A. Clark from The Hundred Thousand Places (Carcanet Press , 2009)

About the poet Thomas A Clark was born in Greenock and now lives in Fife. In addition to his many publications, his work often takes the form of installations or interventions in galleries, public spaces or in the landscape. A large collection of such work has recently been installed throughout New Stobhill Hospital in Glasgow. In the summer months, with the artist Laurie Clark, he runs Cairn, a project space for minimal and conceptual art. Thomas A Clark’s principal publications are Tormentil & Bleached Bones (Polygon); Distance & Proximity (Pocketbooks); The Path To The Sea (Arc Publications); The Hundred Thousand Places (Carcanet Press) and many cards and small booklets from his own Moschatel Press.

Inspiration for the Poem Although the location of this place escapes me now, I can vividly remember being there, sitting in the sunshine, listening to the song of the water. The poem is a new place that the reader can come to.