The political economy of tango
in the 21st Century

ISBN: 978-1-913329-39-6
2021
Paperback 148 x 210 mm, 76 pages
RRP £10.00

Some lines in praise of Richard Schwartz’s  The political economy of tango in the 21st century
 
'Open the pages of Richard Schwartz’s collection and you’ll be swathed in powerful, moving, enchanting bursts of words. Selected and shaped so they open your heart. So many poems made me smile, a lot. Some, happily, made me cry. Schwartz documents, sublimely, the ‘sparkle down the ages’ [Sulphur] and ways to see into a world changing, and one holding on so the good things do not change. It’s what you want from a book of poetry — warmth and extraordinary deftness in small and large scenes. Here’s a poet who truly owns his room; who presents intimacies and glimpses; the light through to the terrible, and still he ‘draw(s) the sting from the next moment’ [Glory Be]. It’s a perfect combination for this Zimbabwean. I’m giving thanks for Richard Schwartz and a collection that has not a speck of ‘egg on its tie’ [Last Word].'
                                             --— Shelley Kenigsberg, editor & writer

‘These mostly dove-shaped poems are charged, like crops, with nourishment. Witty, wise, and soulful, they get ‘’beneath the skin of things’’ [‘’Inventory’’], and generously include the reader in the process. Here is no egotist showing off his considerable skill; here is a friend who invites us to cross his threshold where we ‘’feel free to rummage’’ [‘’Restoration’’]. This is a beautiful collection.’
                                                      —— John Eppel, poet and novelist                      

Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Richard Schwartz has worked as a teacher and journalist in Greece, France and UK. He now lives in London with his wife Lisa, their two children having left home. This is his second collection of poetry. His poems have appeared in the Literary Review, the Auteur and a number of anthologies. He has also written a work of non-fiction on Zimbabwe and co-authored another on a subject too arcane to go into. His career as a contemporary folk singer stalled in the 1970s when his band’s demo tape was rejected by CBS.

'The political economy of tango in the 21st Century' is Richard Schwartz's second collection of poems, covering work from the past two years.
 
Spurred by Leonard Cohen’s observation that, “There is a crack, a crack in everything; that’s how the light gets in”, these poems seek out the fissures in human certainty and honour them.
 
This collection is not a place to come for answers. It is more a record of means than ends, a series of reflections on foggy journeys somehow never abandoned, with shape taking on a physical importance.

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