{"product_id":"river-in-the-sky","title":"River In The Sky","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA single book-length poem, \u003ci\u003eThe River in the Sky\u003c\/i\u003e sees Clive James face up to his final moments of life with all the wisdom, lightly-worn erudition and good humour that defined his extraordinary career.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eClose to death for a number of years, Clive James wrote about the experience in a series of deeply moving poems. In this volume, we find him in ill health but high spirits. Though his body found him bound to his Cambridge home, his mind was free to roam. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn a grand tour of ''the fragile treasures of his life'', James is animated by powerful recollections. He presents a flowing stream of vivid images, moving from emotionally resonant personal moments, such as listening to jazz records with his future wife, to unforgettable encounters with all kinds of culture: Beethoven''s Ninth Symphony sits alongside ''YouTube''s vast cosmopolis''. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJames shares his passions with enormous generosity, making brilliant, original connections and fearlessly tackling the biggest questions: the meaning of life and how to live it. In the end, what emerges from this autobiographical epic is a soaring work of exceptional depth and feeling.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''The River in the Sky is superb, an epic lament, written in late life, filled with exact and moving observations about life and culture'' – \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eClive James\u003c\/b\u003e (1939–2019) was a broadcaster, critic, poet, memoirist and novelist. His acclaimed poetry includes the collection \u003ci\u003eSentenced to Life\u003c\/i\u003e and a translation of Dante''s\u003ci\u003e The Divine Comedy\u003c\/i\u003e, both \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestsellers. His passion for and knowledge of poetry are distilled in his book of criticism on the subject, \u003ci\u003ePoetry Notebook\u003c\/i\u003e, and, written in the last year of his life, his personal annotated anthology of favourite poems, \u003ci\u003eThe Fire Of Joy\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for Clive James:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''He will be seen, I think, as one of the most important and influential writers of our time'' – Bryan Appleyard, \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Wise, witty, terrifying, unflinching and extraordinarily alive'' – A.S. Byatt, critic and author of \u003ci\u003ePossession: A Romance\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Clive James is a true poet'' – Peter Porter, \u003ci\u003eLondon Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MediaPlace","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57312973750654,"sku":"NW9781509887248","price":10.22,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1379\/1261\/files\/9781509887248.jpg?v=1778590431","url":"https:\/\/mediaplace.com\/products\/river-in-the-sky","provider":"MediaPlace","version":"1.0","type":"link"}