{"product_id":"material-witness-edward-ragg-9781788641944","title":"Material Witness","description":"\u003cp\u003eEdward Ragg won the 2012 Cinnamon Press Poetry Award and his debut collection was \u003cem\u003eA Force That Takes\u003c\/em\u003e (2013). Subsequent volumes include: \u003cem\u003eHolding Unfailing\u003c\/em\u003e (2017), \u003cem\u003eExploring Rights\u003c\/em\u003e (2020), \u003cem\u003eAnd Then the Rain Cam\u003c\/em\u003ee (2022) and \u003cem\u003eVital Signs\u003c\/em\u003e (2024). \u003cem\u003eMaterial Witness\u003c\/em\u003e, his sixth collection, bears witness to all manner of materials: from botany, bower birds, diving bell spiders, rock formations and coral reefs to a Nazi-stamped photo of the poet's mother as well as Dante's Divine Comedy and the Las Meninas paintings of Velázquez and Picasso. In three sections - 'Scenes', 'Acts', 'Aftermaths' - \u003cem\u003eMaterial Witness\u003c\/em\u003e reveals an interlinking architecture, constructing a poetry profoundly wedded to the physical universe and variously concerned with love, family history, the natural world, even the simple act of stirring a cup of tea. This is a poetry that conjures in all senses 'the strange companionship of materials'.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eMaterial Witness\u003c\/em\u003e, Ragg's poetic eye is forensic, gazing intently at the 'vanishing points' of heritage, inheritance and the many shades of love. Structurally, the collection coheres; its three parts echoing one another in form and observations, each subtle change of lens bringing new forces and interrogations to light, making 'the unseen\/materials' seen, the act of 'impossibly witnessing' possible. Clever use of syntactical invention, scientific, literary and artistic allusions and nods to myth and legend, combine to build an architecture around the idea of home. But it is also in his mastery of the line and affinity to cadence where Ragg shines. Taking inspiration from Velázquez's 'Las Meninas' and Picasso's responses to it, these poems honour the materiality of humankind. This is a collection of profound enquiry.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e- Claire Dyer\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Edward Ragg\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1788641949\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781788641944\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Cinnamon Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/13\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 54\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.16lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.13d","brand":"Edward Ragg","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48517094277375,"sku":"9781788641944","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_7b1cd81b-f16f-42ca-96dc-27dcdbaaca47.jpg?v=1778729861","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/material-witness-edward-ragg-9781788641944","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}