Novelist, playwright, professor of creativity and, of course, poet: it seems that, in the realm of writing, Owen Sheers can do just about everything. The only thing he doesn’t do, is offer his readers easy classification. This is especially true of his collection Skirrid Hill, which is approaching its 15-year anniversary of publication. Its poems still remain vital and relevant and, what’s more, form a versatile and enjoyable set text.
While most of the poems seem as fresh as ever, some allude to events and issues that are less fresh in readers’ memories. For example, ‘Flag’ explores aspects of Welsh identity in the light of the Welsh referendum in 1997, and ‘Drinking with Hitler’ offers an exploration of power and its abuses through a portrait of the leader of the ‘War Veterans’ in Zimbabwe, Dr Chenjerai ‘Hitler’ Hunzvi (who wielded power from the late 1990s). Yet even these poems retain relevance through their themes and the ways in which Sheers explores them. Reconsider ‘Flag’ in relation to the urgency of questions of nationalism and identity in places like Scotland and Northern Ireland, or ‘Drinking with Hitler’ in relation to the #MeToo movement’s fightback against men who use their power and influence to exploit women.
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