Tractor Bastard
Review by Richie Brown
Perhaps as well known for his improvised music and an array of fanciful instruments
as his own sharp, rustic verse, Haworth Hodgkinson's words still leap from the page
as if being delivered in his own generous, sheepdog tones between gasps on a tenor
recorder. His second collection, Tractor Bastard, charts a voyage through
the seasons in twenty sittings offering spectacular views and often satirical ones.
This unique combination lets us see his native North-East Scotland at its best and
worst with scenes of natural beauty forming a backdrop to outrageous acts of retribution.
This is a world where newborns question their absent fathers, while the changing
weather is discussed by hypnagogic farm animals.
Haworth's poetry is melancholy, macabre and mirthful by turns — sometimes,
like in In The Night, within the same poem. Elsewhere he plays the part of
the chronicler — sketching notes on everyday life in ordinary, rural areas
with names that ring exotic when coupled with his natural, surreal viewpoint. Often
his finest work is no more than a brief, lunatic suggestion, yet sometimes, such
as in the amusing A Broch Christmas Eve he allows his words to paint a short
film, rather than a snapshot, even if, as it turns out, nobody else was around to
witness it happening.
Richie Brown, poet
www.richiebrown.co.uk