Author Description

Bill Adam was a poet, warrior and teacher.A Kiwi of Scottish descent, he inspired many people during his far too brief life, but never had a chance to return to his writing. Consequently this collection of his work is also far too brief. However, it gives a glimpse of the author he might have become. It also offers snapshots of a lost past, which was simpler in many ways while being just as cynical as the modern world in others.Written in the middle of the last century, while Bill was teaching in London, Word To Be Wise is an intensely personal and insightful window into an era that seems increasingly distant. Vivid images are strung together in intimate pictures of daily life, enriched by deeper concerns and themes that are just as relevant today.Washed by a million pancreatic rainsDissolved and despairedIn the chip-chopped ruinsOf a hundred past civilisations.Tunnels will flow again with water,Columns and chimneys to bend earthwardAs the rank grasses claim againThe spidery ways of man.Excerpt from "Nature's Mirror"W.A. Adam