The Devil and Mrs. Brown and Other Poems

"The Devil and Mrs Brown" is a "mini-epic" forming the main work in the book. It is based on a mediaeval legend deriving from Languedoc telling the story of an ill-fated love affair between a lady and her squire. It includes two translations from Provencal, or Occitan as it is now more generally known, which was the language spoken generally in that part of Southern France. This area was devastated initially by a Crusade declared by Pope Innocent III and later by the ruthless activities of the Inquisition.The story has been given a 20th century framework in order to establish the nature of the world in which the poet is writing and a comparison with mediaeval times..

The rest of the book is made up of poems written by the author over the last 60 years from a "discovery of poetry" (and love) to more recent experiments with form and content. It includes a number of sonnets, translations from the French and other languages, humourous pieces, some written with children in mind and one or two intended as lyrics to be set to music.There are also several "haiku", the 3-line, 7-syllable Japanese form that is enjoying such a vogue at the moment.