Tweetspeak Poetry

  • Home
  • FREE prompts
  • National Poetry Month
  • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • Teaching Tools
  • Books, Etc.
  • Patron Love

Poets and Poems: Clive James and “Sentenced to Life”

By Glynn Young 5 Comments

lake at sunset - Poets and Poems: Clive James and “Sentenced to Life”

Clive James is an essayist, poet, translator of Dante, cultural historian, critic, travel writer, lyricist, and novelist. As a television critic, he has had a large influence on the development of both British and American television. He’s published five collections of poetry. His translation of The Divine Comedy by Dante was a Sunday Times bestseller. He’s received national honors from both his native Australia and Great Britain.

In 2010, James was diagnosed with leukemia, with a poor prognosis. In 2012, his marriage broke up after he admitted a years-long affair. In 2014, in a poem entitled “Japanese Maple” for The New Yorker, James predicted his own death within a year. He’s sailed close to it a few times, but it is now 2016, and he recently told The Independent that the fact he’s still alive after predicting his death was “embarrassing.”

Embarrassment is better, I’d say.

His most recent collection of poems, Sentenced to Life: Poems 2011-2014, was published last year, and is dedicated to Prue Shaw, his former wife and the mother of their two daughters. A physically slender volume of 37 poems, it includes several poems that became rather well known before the volume was published, including “Japanese Maple.”

The title, Sentenced to Life, is only mildly ironic. Most of us would understand a diagnosis of leukemia as a death sentence. Instead, James found himself coming to an understanding of life, including his own life. The poems are candid, sometimes brutal, and occasionally shocking. But when you’re dying, candor and shock are the least of your problems as you deal with the day-to-day of reality.

Sentenced to LifeProcedure for Disposal

It may not come to this, but if I should
Fail to survive this year of feebleness
Which irks me so and may have killed for good
Whatever gift I had for quick success –
For I could talk an hour alone on stage
And mostly make it up along the way,
But now when I compose a single page
Of double-spaced it takes me half the day –
If I, that is, should finally succumb
To these infirmities I’m slow to learn
The names of lest my brain be rendered numb
With boredom even as I toss and turn,
Then send my ashes home, where they can fall
In their own sweet time from the harbor wall.

Clive James Sentenced to Life

Clive James

The poems are varied and pointed. James finds his eyes are letting in too much light. He nearly dies of pneumonia. He deals with the frailty of illness. He considers playing the grand old man but wonders if he’s too sick to pull it off. He’s installed in the last house he will know. Visitors can become uncomfortable and occupy themselves with small tasks and small talk.

But it is life James has been sentenced to, life and not death. That’s the central understanding he’s realized. And, yes, it changes things. From his title poem:

Once, I would not have noticed; nor have known
The name for Japanese anemones,
So pail, so frail. But now I catch the tone
Of leaves. No birds can touch down in the trees
Without my seeing them. I count the bees.

Even my memories are clearly seen…

Sentenced to Life is not a collection of poems on how to deal with impending death. Instead, it is a collection of poems that tells the story of a man discovering life.

Photo by Christian, Creative Commons, via Flickr. Post by Glynn Young, author of the novels Dancing Priest and A Light Shining, and Poetry at Work.

Browse more poets and poems

__________________________

How to Read a Poem by Tania Runyan How to Read a Poem uses images like the mouse, the hive, the switch (from the Billy Collins poem)—to guide readers into new ways of understanding poems. Anthology included.

“I require all our incoming poetry students—in the MFA I direct—to buy and read this book.”

—Jeanetta Calhoun Mish

Buy How to Read a Poem Now!

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Glynn Young
Follow Glynn
Glynn Young
Editor and Twitter-Party-Cool-Poem-Weaver at Tweetspeak Poetry
Glynn Young lives in St. Louis where he retired as the team leader for Online Strategy & Communications for a Fortune 500 company. Glynn writes poetry, short stories and fiction, and he loves to bike. He is the author of Poetry at Work and the Dancing Priest Series. Find Glynn at Faith, Fiction, Friends.
Glynn Young
Follow Glynn
Latest posts by Glynn Young (see all)
  • Looking for the Poetry in Vermeer, a Blockbuster of an Art Exhibition - March 17, 2023
  • An Updated Take on Keats’s Odes by Anahid Nersessian - March 14, 2023
  • In Praise of Small Museums - March 7, 2023

Filed Under: Blog, Heart Poems, Poems, poetry, poetry reviews, Poets

Get Every Day Poems...

Comments

  1. Mary Harwell Sayler says

    February 23, 2016 at 8:59 am

    Thank you, Glynn, for introducing us to yet another poet whose work expands ours! God bless.

    Reply
  2. Bethany says

    February 23, 2016 at 3:45 pm

    I like your line here, Glynn: “Embarrassment is better, I’d say.” That idea that living through the complications of life can be excruciating but still worth it, is encouraging.

    Love the sounds of the title poem when I read it outloud. “Japanese anemones” for example, is just gorgeous. Oh, and counting the bees, and that ending line… wow.

    Thanks so much for this post.

    Reply
  3. Michael says

    February 26, 2016 at 11:08 am

    That usually happens when faced with a life altering event; things that we took for granted now become magnified – in our minds the processes of meaning changes and even the smallest seemingly insignificant things now have a deeper meaning. Life in our mind slows down as we seem to take more in and see how each and every moment affects us in what little time we have left on this earth.

    I saw it with my father; all the things he had trouble expressing just flowed out the last few weeks of his life. People would go away amazed with his knowledge but more so on how he expressed his thoughts and wisdom; it was so simple but so profound.

    Reply
    • Bethany says

      February 26, 2016 at 12:35 pm

      Thank you for sharing this, Michael. My condolences to you for your loss.

      I can relate to what you’re saying about more fully absorbing and appreciating the details in such a time. Poetry is a fitting medium for recording it – the counting of each bee.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Poets and Poems: Clive James and "Injury Time" - says:
    February 20, 2018 at 5:01 am

    […] Poets and Poems: Clive James and Sentenced to Life […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cute Comic

😊

The Sadbook Collections

A stick-figure human sure to capture your heart.

Take How to Read a Poem

Get the Introduction, the Billy Collins poem, and Chapter 1

get the sample now

Welcome to Tweetspeak

New to Tweetspeak Poetry? Start here, in The Mischief Café. You're a regular? Check out our March Menu.

Patron Love

❤️

Welcome a little patron love, when you help keep the world poetic.

Now a Graphic Novel!

"Stunning, heartbreaking, and relevant illustrations"

Callie Feyen, teacher

read a summary of The Yellow Wallpaper

meet The Yellow Wallpaper characters

Your Comments

  • 20 Best Poetry Books About Love to Read Now  | Giannina Braschi on Poets and Poems: Dave Malone’s “O: Love Poems from the Ozarks”
  • Laura on The Honey Field—5: Sugar Water for Honeybees
  • Glynn on Looking for the Poetry in Vermeer, a Blockbuster of an Art Exhibition
  • L.L. Barkat on The Honey Field—5: Sugar Water for Honeybees

How to Write Poetry

Featured In

We're happy to have been featured in...

The Huffington Post

The Paris Review

The New York Observer

Tumblr Book News

Stay in Touch With Us

Categories

Coloring Page Poem Printables!

Get all free coloring page poems now

Learn to Write Form Poems

How to Write an Acrostic

How to Write a Ballad

How to Write a Catalog Poem

How to Write a Ghazal

How to Write a Haiku

How to Write an Ode

How to Write a Pantoum

How to Write a Rondeau

How to Write a Sestina

How to Write a Sonnet

How to Write a Villanelle

5 FREE POETRY PROMPTS

Get 5 FREE inbox poetry prompts from the popular book How to Write a Poem

Shakespeare Resources

Poetry Classroom: Sonnet 18

Common Core Picture Poems: Sonnet 73

Sonnet 104 Annotated

Sonnet 116 Annotated

Character Analysis: Romeo and Juliet

Character Analysis: Was Hamlet Sane or Insane?

Why Does Hamlet Wait to Kill the King?

10 Fun Shakespeare Resources

About Shakespeare: Poet and Playwright

Top 10 Shakespeare Sonnets

See all 154 Shakespeare sonnets in our Shakespeare Library!

Explore Work From Black Poets

About Us

  • • A Blessing for Writers
  • • Annual Theme 2022: Perspective
  • • Annual Theme 2021: Generous
  • • Our Story
  • • Meet Our Team
  • • Literary Citizenship
  • • Poet Laura
  • • Poetry for Life: The 5 Vital Approaches
  • • T. S. Poetry Press – All Books
  • • Contact Us

Write With Us

  • • 5 FREE Poetry Prompts-Inbox Delivery
  • • 30 Days to Richer Writing Workshop
  • • How to Write Form Poems-Infographics
  • • Poetry Club Tea Date
  • • Poetry Prompts
  • • Submissions

Read With Us

  • • All Our Books
  • • Book Club
  • • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • • Literacy Extras
  • • Poems to Listen By: Audio Series
  • • Poet-a-Day
  • • Poets and Poems
  • • 50 States Projects
  • • Charlotte Perkins Gilman Poems Library
  • • Edgar Allan Poe Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Blake Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Shakespeare Sonnet Library

Celebrate With Us

  • • Poem on Your Pillow Day
  • • Poetic Earth Month
  • • Poet in a Cupcake Day
  • • Poetry at Work Day
  • • Random Acts of Poetry Day
  • • Take Your Poet to School Week
  • • Take Your Poet to Work Day

Gift Ideas

  • • Every Day Poems
  • • Our Shop
  • • Everybody Loves a Book!

Connect

  • • Donate
  • • Blog Buttons
  • • By Heart
  • • Shop for Tweetspeak Fun Stuff

Copyright © 2023 Tweetspeak Poetry · FAQ, Disclosure & Privacy Policy

We serve poetry with our cookies. Because that's the way it should be.
We serve poetry with your cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you... accept the cookies with a smile.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
update cookie prefs

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT