'We included everything we wanted to say without saying it.'
-- Duke Ellington
Hidden Music is a collection of poems that listens and responds to
Ralph Dartford's lifetime obsession with song, and which subsequently
allows his singular poetic vision to take flight. From Nick Cave to Lee
Morgan, and Ella Fitzgerald to Radiohead, these poems search and reveal
the untold stories within a dyslexic and melodious imagination, and like
the most intoxicating music, gifts ownership to both the listener and
the reader.
- To be supported by an extensive tour of literary festivals.
- Featuring iconic cover art by Pete McKee.
"Dartford's latest collection is an unashamedly emotional homage to
love, loss and Cubist fry-ups in south Yorkshire. A tender lament to the
hidden music of heartbreak and the bittersweet transience of happiness,
shot through with nostalgia, wry humour and a warm intelligence."
-- Anthony Clavane
"Hidden Music is a fabulous 'album' of poems, each unique but all
musically intertwined. The effect is that of a late-night radio show, a
slow drive along unlit roads, the poems feeding into the ear, softly,
like the tracks they are linked to, pulling the reader through memory
and imagination on a journey of poetic expression. This collection is a
sublime experience; a refreshing, boundary-testing setlist that hits
every note. I can't wait to listen to the playlist now."
-- Wendy Pratt
