Description
Book SynopsisPaint Yourself is a poetry collection whose very purpose is steeped in the exploration of preconceived perceptions, and whether they can be reconfigured, refreshed, renewed, viewing the world - sunsets specifically - in a new way. The poems track this journey into sunsets, a journey of ideas and perception, through three main stages: loosening, breaking, binding; the process of gaining new perspectives. Combined with the poetry is a range of innovative graphical elements, drawings by the author himself, acting as visual backdrops to the powerful words, words spurred by the loss of a close friend.
Trade ReviewGreat places for watching the sun set: Narroways, Purdown and even the Community Garden. Tom Burgess invites us to do just that. He hopes that his poems collected in Paint Yourself may inspire us to gain freedom by engaging with 'the regular miracle of sunsets'. His ecstatic response ranges through countries and philosophies, rich images jostling with demanding ideas, colours with movement. The meditation moves through three stages, from Loosening through Breaking to Binding. At the beginning the scene is set with a newly-told myth of the sun's own history while at the end the poet resolves to carve his own path. A Journey into Sunsets inspires us to contemplate rather than just see and so to join its author on his way. - Review by Chris Thirlway
