Latina
Classical Latin poetry is capable of a beauty all its own. Its structure, derived from Greek precedents, is an orderly patterning of long and short syllables, sometimes quite simple, sometimes more complex. Across these metrical patterns the words scatter a play of varied phonetic stress and fall in place with a freedom, facilitated by the inflexional nature of the language, that can convey fine nuances of emphasis. As late as the sixth century Latin poets could still feel free to present new metrical arrangements of this kind. Later we find them either (as in the Middle Ages) adopting the rhyme and the stressed-based or syllable-counting rhythms to which we are used in the verse of modern European languages or (especially from the Renaissance onwards) aiming at fidelity to a restricted number of ancient models. In his flowingly expressive Latin poetry Stephen Coombs adheres to classical principles while often once again introducing novel metrical forms. With the vocabulary and imagery of Latin's history at its disposal his voice is nonetheless contemporary and driven by personal experience and conviction. The title of this collection means "into the era of the day after tomorrow".
