Remarkable Occurrences - Patrick Lodge

This is a book of two halves, and many journeys. The first part sends us throughout the world and across history, finding the poetry in James Joyce's short-lived cinema, Dana Scully's oarless rowboat, the Cerasi Chapel, a Hindu temple, the Cardiff Mod scene and a Bowie-singing log delivery man - all painted with Lodge's trademark understated humour, striking imagery and careful observation.

The second part is a lengthy sequence responding to Captain James Cook's first voyage aboard the Endeavour. Not a work of biography, or a history, this is an effort to capture the imaginative power of Cook's journey into the unknown through a squint view of his companions, the cultures he encountered and the events which unfolded. As a whole, Remarkable Occurrences is a deeply impressive literary achievement which will leave a lasting impression on all those who encounter it.

"Remarkable Occurrences is Lodge at his best - finely observed moments, images to die for, and an assured tone throughout. There is nothing parochial or self-centred in this colourful and cosmopolitan collection by a poet who knows and loves his craft. The title sequence celebrates Cook's voyage into the unknown, rescuing characters and incidents from historic and cultural obscurity, but the real exploration here is of ourselves in a diversity of places and of English as a European language. A work for our times." Will Kemp

"A tour de force in two parts, the first part recording the poet's own travels with his customary sharp insights. The distilling of Cook's Remarkable Occurrences is a sustained departure from Lodge's usual style. Part threnody, part celebration, it is a remarkable achievement." Hannah Stone