Island magazine, summer 2003 (extract)
A parent himself, Ray Liversidge is conscious of his responsibility to his children and writes tenderly about the time spent with them. ‘Reef Dreaming’, for instance, contains some fine observations of his daughter snorkelling: ‘Now your mouth becomes a gill, limbs / a tail and fins’. Liversidge is almost invariably personal. One poem describes life on the singles circuit, another his regular lunches with a friend. While the casual demeanour of such accounts is effective, Liversidge looks to be at his best when he applies structure to his lines… This is writing of a high order, reminding us of poetry’s origins in ceremony and its ability to name and locate experience.
Muse magazine, 2003 (extract)
This anthology ranges widely through a personal landscape, covering territories of love and sex, birth and death, children and forebears; the usual areas that poets address. It is the way that they are addressed that make each poet’s work unique… Liversidge is well versed in the poet’s craft and the shape of his work is beautifully varied, each form obviously chosen to suit its content… There is an unsentimental intelligence behind the work that conjures up a whole story with a few words.
The Mini Mag (USA), 2004 (extract)
As the language of man intertwines with popular culture and back again, as the silt of humanity clings to every piece of trash thrown into the infested waters of our feeble environment isn’t it good to know that there are writers like Ray Liversidge here to help us remember to take a break and just glance over the surface of the water and see that it can be okay with hard work and simple belief… I like this book and I hope if you have a chance to read a copy that you will too.
[...] collection of poetry and a verse novel. You can read a selection of poems from Obeying the Call and reviews of the book. My verse novel The Barrier Range was published by Flat Chat Press in July 2006 and [...]