Too Much Toothache

For the past twenty years Alan Dent's caustic, witty, polemical, enthusiastic and highly individual reviews of modern poetry have been the most eagerly read section of his magazines The Penniless Press and Mistress Quickly's Bed. Few critics can boast of having a poem written about their activity (Dentistry by Edward MacKinnon), but it isn't surprising Dent has: he may divide opinion, but he is always memorable and never afraid of making enemies ( at least the right ones). This volume contains all his poetry reviews since 1995 together with a few longer pieces. Follow the thread of their argument and you will find an original and bracing view of modern poetry in Britain. The title is drawn from a quotation by Miroslav Holub used as the book's epigraph. Taking his cue from the great Czech, Dent hunts down the excessive subjectivity of modern poets and spikes it. In doing so he works out a different possibility for poetry. No one interested in modern poetic practice should miss this book.