TATE ONLINE


TATE ONLINE

Tate Etc - Europe's largest art magazine

SEARCH

Poem of the Month

Katrina Porteous
Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Le Grand Cheval (Large Horse), 1914, cast 1961

Raymond Duchamp-Villon
Le Grand Cheval (Large Horse) 1914, cast 1961
Bronze
100.0 x 98.7 x 66.0 cm

Engine of History
 
Silence. And from it, twist
Shoulder, flank,

Heart-beat and steady
Hoof-plod; and the coulter

Parts the clay, its fragrance
Winding downriver.

Hot horse lather.
Quarters, croup, hock

Thrust up; the straight
Cannon plunge, a piston

Pounding, its contradiction
The bend, break, flex

Of water’s curve and cusp,
That beautiful, blind striving.

Beat, heart, and arch
Crest; shoulder

Bow till the living spine
Uncoils; its engine –

Cog, chain-link, track-plate –
Parting the clay, the river

Dragging its stink –
Sweat, dung, machine-oil, corpses –

Onwards – relentless,
Unswerving – into silence.

Context:

The Poetry SocietyWorks by Raymond Duchamp-Villon in the Tate CollectionArt Vehicle - Contemporary Art in LondonPen Pusher - where new art finds its voice The Poetry LIbrary - The Southbank Centre

Each month, TATE ETC. publishes new poetry by leading poets such as John Burnside, Moniza Alvi, Adam Thorpe, Alice Oswald and David Harsent who respond to works from the Tate Collection. Subscribe to the Poem of the Month RSS feed.

This May, Katrina Porteous presents her poem, Engine of History, based on Raymond Duchamp-Villon's Large Horse. This work is currently on display in Tate Modern, on Level 5: States of Flux, in Room 2, (Cubism, Futurism, Vorticism).

The Poetry Society is curating this year's selection in the organisation's centenary year. Founded in 1909, the Society is now one of Britain’s most high-profile arts organisations, helping poets and poetry thrive in Britain and beyond. Membership is open to all, though members include many of the UK’s most eminent poets. It publishes the highly-respected journal Poetry Review; and also works to deliver a programme of poetry in education, supporting and developing creativity among young people and communities. Visit http://www.poetrysociety.org.uk for further information.

KATRINA PORTEOUS

Katrina Porteous is a poet and historian, based on the Northumberland coast. She has been Writer-in-Residence in the Shetland Islands and at the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival, and has written many long poems for BBC Radio. Her publications include The Lost Music, The Wund an’ the Wetter, The Bonny Fisher Lad, Dunstanburgh, Longshore Drift and The Blue Lonnen.

http://www.katrinaporteous.co.uk/

Katrina will be appearing at the Sutton Hoo Poetry Festival at the famous Anglo-Saxon burial site in Suffolk, as part of the Poetry Society’s Stanza events in their centenary year. The festival runs on the weekend of June 27th and 28th , from 10.30 – 5.00pm, and is also celebrating the 70th anniversary of the ship discovery at Sutton Hoo. For further information about this event and other Stanza events happening across the country, please visit http://www.poetrysociety.org.uk/content/membership/stanzas