Black Book

By Ian D. Hall

An anthology of work collected from the writing and performances of poetry by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool has always nurtured distinctive voices in its poetry, music, and art. In this collection, Ian Hall - poet, performer, reviewer of film, theatre, and music, founder of 'Liverpool Sound and Vision', graduate of English, and all-round local legend - sounds his voice with distinction, joining it to the city's resounding chorus of talents. Black Book moves us from the Armitage-like wit of 'One Day in Crewe' to the dark protest of 'Who's to Blame'; from Crosby beach in 'The Seagull versus the Iron Men' to the American, Bourbon-scented whirl of 'Kerouac Dreams'. The versatility and range of these poems will take you and shake you, shifting from sonnet to free verse and back again, and from the poet's profound love for a Morris Minor to the deep myths of Eve and the Devil, Echo and Narcissus.

To borrow a telling line, each poem is a 'sculpture of passionate sentiment : delicate yet enduring, often poignant yet also ruggedly tough.'

Read on. Enjoy.
May the music of this poetry fill you, every note.
Dr Michael Davies, University of Liverpool

Ian puts all the write words in the right places to produce profound poems.
John Gorman

Words build emotional bridges and skyscrapers. Poet Ian D. Hall uses the tools of his trade to convey past and future experiences. He has a solid foundation of work to build upon. A distinctive, sensitive voice using light, shade and colour to maximum effect.
Peter Grant

• Language: English
• Publisher: Beaten Track Publishing
• Release date: Apr 23, 2018
• ISBN: 9781786452160

Ian D. Hall

Having been found on a 'Co-op' shelf in Stirchley, Birmingham by a Cornish woman and a man of dubious footballing taste, Ian grew up in neighbouring Selly Park and Bicester in Oxfordshire. After travelling far and wide, he now considers Liverpool to be his home.Ian was educated at Moor Green School, Bicester Senior School, and the University of Liverpool, where he gained a 2:1 (BA Hons) in English Literature.He now reviews and publishes daily on the music, theatre and culture within Merseyside.

Book preview

Missing You

She introduced me to the pleasure of friendship,

She made me realise the pain of love.

She saw how much I hurt,

What her aching had made me become.

A quivering wreck, an emotional fool!

My heart no longer still, in time with the savage’s drum.

The taste, tantalising and slow,

Regret that I never once told her what she meant to me.

All those years from childhood to near death

And she said, That this moment was for me, my reward.

For friendship will prevail, it’s all that’s left.

Her face reminds me of another.

Her music fills me, every note, all to savour.

I shake, and I stutter words that don’t belong;

She gently places a ravaged finger over my dry lips,

Her heart beating slowly in tune with Tori’s song.

I still see her image every day, a conjured thought

Still smiling and saying that, It is right to cry.

Tears flow as I whisper her name

Though she’s gone from me, perhaps never mine,

And when I see her gravestone, I feel no shame.

I said goodbye in a letter freshly written,

Raindrops making the ink run on the flowers below –

Originally red, now black like the emptiness of my