Twenty Four Preludes and Fugues on Dmitri Shostakovich

Joanna Boulter's first full-length poetry collection takes the form of a long sequence based on the life and turbulent times of the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich. Taking Shostakovich's "Preludes & Fugues" as her starting point, the poet puts together a deeply-considered and thoroughly-researched account of the composer's life, with the 'preludes' written in free or invented forms in the third person, and the 'fugues' in any strict poetic form in the first person as the voice of the composer himself. The effect of these poems is cumulative and together they make an original contribution to the assessment and celebration of the life and work of Shostakovich.