Bush, Duncan

(1946- )

   The biographical detail on this poet is scant. He was born in Cardiff and now divides his time between homes in Luxembourg and the upper Swansea Valley of south Wales. He has published translations of Mallarmé, Baudelaire, Pavese and Pierre de la Prée. The Genre of Silence (1991) is a mixture of history and fiction of the life of the Russian poet Victor Bal, who "disappeared" under Stalinism. Bush's central concerns are the nature of work, the impact of industry on its environs, and the fate of modern man at the centre of a complicated web of social, political and personal forces. Some of his poetry publications: Aquarium, 1983. Black Faces, Red Mouths: Poems on the Mining Communities and 1984-85 Strike, 1985. Salt: Poems, 1985. Masks, 1994 (winner of the Welsh Book of the Year Award). The Hook, 1997 (brings together Aquarium and Salt). Midway, 1998 (largely biographical, he explores the second half of the 20th century). Some of his poems: "Drainlayer," "Living in Real Times," "Pneumoconiosis," "Summer 1984," "The Hook," "The Sunday the Power Went Off."

   Sources: Anglo-Welsh Poetry, 1480-1980. Raymond Garlick and Roland Mathias, ed. Poetry Wales Press, 1984. Anglo-Welsh Poetry, 1480-1990. Raymond Garlick and Roland Mathias, ed. Poetry Wales Press, 1993. Books by Duncan Bush: Results-enCompass Culture (http://www.encompassculture.com/results/?qs=Duncan%20Bush). The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org). Poems by Duncan Bush: Transcript (English) (http://www.transcript-review.org/sub.cfm?lan=en&id=2991). Twentieth Century Anglo-Welsh Poetry. Dannie Abse. Seren Books/Dufour Editions, 1997.