The Garden, a PJ Harvey Discussion Site

http://iconosquare.com/p/1083720948421218443_1297829851

Wow! Can't wait to get my copy!

https://twitter.com/tobiastheking/statu ... 7518981120 - Polly gave her book to Barack Obama!! ))) Very smart target audience marketing move. )))

"The Hollow of the Hand" [ Uncorrected Sample Pages ]







http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/The-Hollow-of ... 1918896263

"This desire to connect at an earthy and human level is evident in her poetry. While others might have focussed on the politics that have reduced these places to rubble redolent with violence, Harvey concentrates on capturing deeply personal moments. Her poetry is lyrical and rhythmical, as one might expect from a songwriter of her depth and experience. Harvey uncovers the small moments that have big impact, and does this with class, restraint and an eye trained to understand people.

Murphy captures the death, destruction and emptiness of Kosovo with images that contrast resilience with sacrifice. In Afghanistan what is notable is the lack of adult female faces. There are many male faces, and the odd burqa here and there, but Murphy, with this obvious omission, uncovers one of the great shames of this country. In Washington DC he finds a comparatively urbanised and contemporary society, but Harvey’s poems reveal the betrayal of these images – Washington DC is a warzone, too. It’s just hidden beneath business suits and gold stilettos.

This collection is a moving and nuanced record of the turmoil of our times. It brings into sharp relief the connections between three seemingly separate places and draws on the commonality of both our humanity and our stupidity."

http://theclothesline.com.au/hollow-of- ... ok-review/

Polly reads a poem "The Hand": http://www.timeout.com/london/music/hea ... r-new-book.

beautiful

Call me a hacker, but I found a way to save this audio (they use SoundCloud player, but it wasn't uploaded there in a regular way): http://www.mediafire.com/download/gplyk ... 00-Pth.rar.

In the cache of this player, I also found MORE FULL image:

just arrived

Thanks so much Kuk91!
I don't remember if we already discussed this, but do you guys think the next record's title will be the same as the book?

bruise wrote:I don't remember if we already discussed this, but do you guys think the next record's title will be the same as the book?

I don't think so - as far as we know, neither one of the new songs is based upon this titular poem (and the only album titled NOT after some song is the "Stories"). Back in February, my guess was that title "The Age of the Dollar" would seemingly suit this record just fine (based on the content of the lyrics, and it is a title of new song).

I do hope that Polly will announce the title and the release date during this week's shows.

Just got my copy.

I am not enjoying it. It's not that it is bad... but I think it's not nearly as great as anything she did previously. I also don't think she is good reading poetry.

Actually, The Guest Room is probably the best poem in the book.

The lyrics to the song "The Orange Monkey" are included in the book. The very same lyrics I heard when I went to the Somerset House in Febreuary.

natinhos wrote:I also don't think she is good [in] reading poetry.

Personally, I enjoy her voice and intonations tremendously. Sadly, my copy will start it's (long) way to Russia only on October 8th.

Here's another poem from Instagram:

"It's not an easy book. Some of the photographs are disturbing to say the least.
Murphy catches the small moments on the day-to-day hinterland of his chosen subjects.
In the Kosovo and Afghanistan pictures, death and destruction go hand-in-hand. But there are moments of levity. Children laughing; a man holding a donkey's head which makes him look like Bottom in Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream.
In Washington DC, there is more saturated colour. It's the land of the free... a pair of gold blingy heels walk up a moving staircase, a child is dappled by sunshine under a cherry tree in full bloom.
Throughout it all, PJ Harvey provides a running poetic commentary.
It's an almost musical counterpoint which adds to the experience of looking at the pictures.
She never knowingly over-eggs the poetry. They have a sparse musicality and she paints vivid pictures with well-chosen words."

https://www.polaroidblipfoto.com/entry/ ... 9421251098

i've only managed to open it to see the signatures & the odd random page, not enough hours in the day of late

one thing i can say is a was shocked at the size of the book when the postie delivered it - it's huge, atlas like