{"id":9013,"date":"2017-12-20T13:15:31","date_gmt":"2017-12-20T12:15:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=9013"},"modified":"2017-12-20T13:15:46","modified_gmt":"2017-12-20T12:15:46","slug":"adrian-buckner-downshifting-reviewed-by-ian-pople","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=9013","title":{"rendered":"Adrian Buckner, Downshifting<\/em>, reviewed by Ian Pople"},"content":{"rendered":"
Adrian Buckner, Downshifting<\/em> (Five Leaves Publications, \u00a39.99).<\/h5>\n

The OED<\/a> defines \u2018downshifting\u2019 as \u2018The action of\u00a0downshift; an instance of this;\u00a0spec. (orig.\u00a0U.S.), the practice of changing a financially rewarding but stressful career or lifestyle for one less pressured and highly paid, but more fulfilling.\u2019<\/em> The title poem of Adrian Buckner\u2019s third book of poems paints an idealistic and idealised version of the downshifting worker who wants to move away from the office job, with its intellectual and emotion labour, to one in which those demands do not exist. This is a job in which the payoff is the chance both to read books and to carry their worlds around in his head. Of course, Buckner is clear that this version of Larkin\u2019s \u2018Toads\u2019, is just as unrealistic as Larkin\u2019s own; but Buckner keeps his hopes up, \u2018Thomas, I am with you in the dead hour,\/ perched on my forklift truck, watching\/ Egdon Heath turn to dusk in six pages.\u2019<\/p>\n

The cover of Downshifting<\/em>, shows what might be a very English young man, possibly on the way home from school or college, a satchel slung over his left shoulder. The young man is walking through autumn leaves, with a lowering autumnal sky behind him. The tree in the picture has denuded twigs. The young man is looking pensively down at the crisp packet he appears to be toeing through the leaves. Such an illustration is perfectly chosen, as, over the course of his three books, Adrian Buckner has built a quiet body of warm, rather English writing. This description may sound both parochial and sentimental, but Buckner\u2019s writing is the very antithesis of that. The writing is precise, hard-earned, and winces at certainties, although it is capable of reducing some of those certainties to a kind of delicate rubble.<\/p>\n

The book does repeat some of the concerns of Buckner\u2019s two previous volumes: there are poems about cricket, Russian nineteenth century novels, and quiet, yet piercing observations of the comings and goings in his English Midlands\u2019 suburb. Larkin complained that development in a poet was overrated, but Buckner has circled round these subjects with a refining eye. Buckner\u2019s great gift is to be the poet of epiphany. Of course, many poets aspire to such a gift; to be able to make a moment both concrete and resonant. Buckner is a great organizer of poems; thus the concrete and the resonant emerge naturally out of the precise trajectory of his writing. I wish I could quote the whole of \u2018Summer\u2019s End\u2019, an achingly beautiful \u2018little\u2019 poem about shell collecting with a small child, which ends, \u2018A dozen times she brings\/ her spilling jewels to him;\/\/ on his deliberate palm a single\/ offering for her.\u2019 As much as anything it is the placing of the adjectives \u2018spilling\u2019 and \u2018deliberate\u2019 which makes the ending so poignant. As much as anything it is Buckner\u2019s acute understanding of these moments of love which makes his writing so empathetic and uplifting.<\/p>\n

Ian Pople<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Adrian Buckner, Downshifting (Five Leaves Publications, \u00a39.99). The OED defines \u2018downshifting\u2019 as \u2018The action of\u00a0downshift; an instance of this;\u00a0spec. (orig.\u00a0U.S.), the practice of changing a financially rewarding but stressful career or lifestyle for one less pressured and highly paid, but more fulfilling.\u2019 The title poem of Adrian Buckner\u2019s third book of poems paints an idealistic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[13,283],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nAdrian Buckner, Downshifting, reviewed by Ian Pople - The Manchester Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=9013\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Adrian Buckner, Downshifting, reviewed by Ian Pople - The Manchester Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Adrian Buckner, Downshifting (Five Leaves Publications, \u00a39.99). The OED defines \u2018downshifting\u2019 as \u2018The action of\u00a0downshift; an instance of this;\u00a0spec. (orig.\u00a0U.S.), the practice of changing a financially rewarding but stressful career or lifestyle for one less pressured and highly paid, but more fulfilling.\u2019 The title poem of Adrian Buckner\u2019s third book of poems paints an idealistic […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=9013\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Manchester Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-12-20T12:15:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-12-20T12:15:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/i68.tinypic.com\/10palqb.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ian Pople\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ian Pople\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=9013\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=9013\",\"name\":\"Adrian Buckner, Downshifting, reviewed by Ian Pople - The Manchester Review\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-12-20T12:15:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-12-20T12:15:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/1e4c20066db3d71097155619e6d443a9\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=9013#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=9013\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=9013#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Adrian Buckner, Downshifting, reviewed by Ian Pople\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"The Manchester Review\",\"description\":\"The Manchester Review\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/1e4c20066db3d71097155619e6d443a9\",\"name\":\"Ian Pople\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/wp-includes\/images\/blank.gif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/wp-includes\/images\/blank.gif\",\"caption\":\"Ian Pople\"},\"description\":\"Ian Pople's Spillway is published by Anstruther Press.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?author=21\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Adrian Buckner, Downshifting, reviewed by Ian Pople - The Manchester Review","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=9013","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Adrian Buckner, Downshifting, reviewed by Ian Pople - The Manchester Review","og_description":"Adrian Buckner, Downshifting (Five Leaves Publications, \u00a39.99). The OED defines \u2018downshifting\u2019 as \u2018The action of\u00a0downshift; an instance of this;\u00a0spec. (orig.\u00a0U.S.), the practice of changing a financially rewarding but stressful career or lifestyle for one less pressured and highly paid, but more fulfilling.\u2019 The title poem of Adrian Buckner\u2019s third book of poems paints an idealistic […]","og_url":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=9013","og_site_name":"The Manchester Review","article_published_time":"2017-12-20T12:15:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-12-20T12:15:46+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/i68.tinypic.com\/10palqb.jpg"}],"author":"Ian Pople","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ian Pople","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=9013","url":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=9013","name":"Adrian Buckner, Downshifting, reviewed by Ian Pople - The Manchester Review","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-12-20T12:15:31+00:00","dateModified":"2017-12-20T12:15:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/1e4c20066db3d71097155619e6d443a9"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=9013#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=9013"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=9013#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Adrian Buckner, Downshifting, reviewed by Ian Pople"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#website","url":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/","name":"The Manchester Review","description":"The Manchester Review","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/1e4c20066db3d71097155619e6d443a9","name":"Ian Pople","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/wp-includes\/images\/blank.gif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/wp-includes\/images\/blank.gif","caption":"Ian Pople"},"description":"Ian Pople's Spillway is published by Anstruther Press.","url":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?author=21"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2PuXo-2ln","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9013"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9013"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9016,"href":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9013\/revisions\/9016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}