John Burnside
John Burnside
John Burnsideis a Scottish writer, born in Dunfermline. He is one of only two poetsto have won both the T. S. Eliot Prize and the Forward Poetry Prize for the same book...
NationalityScottish
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth19 March 1955
attractive beyond exist happiness nature
As attractive as it is, the idea that nature can exist beyond our dangerous 'instinct for happiness' is never the whole story.
characters nicer people time
Every time I write a book, I think how I could be doing it better to please people - a nicer book with nicer characters - but I just can't.
rather term
I don't like the term 'mental illness.' I'd rather just say 'mad.' Just like I always say 'loony bin,' not 'mental hospital.'
moved parts south
I moved south when I was 11 years old, moved to England. I've lived in all kinds of places, all parts of England.
cannot poetry realised spent talking time trying
I realised I'd spent a lot of time in my poetry trying to find a way of talking about that whereof we cannot speak.
mad playing school
I remember playing the Mad Hatter in a school play and feeling very comfortable in the character.
dwelling humans plants
I think humans have to learn a new way of dwelling on this earth. A way of living with their companions: animals, plants and fish.
cliffs constantly crumbling decay highest landscape nova park provincial red sandy shore slide slowly soft tides trees unlike wash
There is a red sandy beach in the Minas Basin in Nova Scotia that is unlike any other shore landscape I have ever seen. The world's highest tides wash its shores, and the soft cliffs of Blomidon Provincial Park are constantly crumbling away; whole trees will occasionally slide down to the sea to decay slowly in the wind and brine.
across almost house pleasure stumbling
The only pleasure in redecorating or moving house comes from stumbling across books that I'd almost forgotten I owned.
range textures tonal
The fabric of a garden is determined as much by its textures as by its tonal range and architectural flair.
albeit bound cultivate demanding gardens human obliged painfully period realm separation time until
The conventional, and painfully artificial, separation of the human realm from the natural other is bound to perish, albeit over a period of time, until we are obliged to learn how to cultivate our gardens under the most demanding conditions.