For those of you who are familiar with DSF only as editor and scholar (and a prolific editor and scholar he is), it is well worth discovering his poetry as well. He is very much a student of CAS--and yet his verse is not dominated by CAS's influence; Mr. Sidney-Fryer is truly his own poet--a true original. Fans of CAS's verse are sure to enjoy DSF's immaculate poetry: the bejeweled imagery, the antique patina, the remote exoticism of the past--it's all there, folks. And more. Not only is his "Atlantis Fragments" a book of verse (3 books of verse, actually), it is a book of short prose pieces, chronicles of Atlantean history, and a few translations, as well. Truly, it is a mesmerizing tome--there is no other quite like it.
Contrary to the implication of the title, not all of the poems are about Atlantis--many are, but not all. For DSF, Atlantis is much more than a fabled city of old, it is "A Symbol for All Splendor Lost"--the title of one of his poems.
For those of you who are curious (by this point, you should be), a good sampling of DSF's poetry can be read for free here: [
alangullette.com]
And for those of you who would hold witness to his dramatic reading style, witness him reading some REH (poetry)here: [
www.youtube.com]