Freed From Distance

Barry's 2016 collection of poetry, spanning ten years of writing, performance & life experience. One of the most popular of his publications, hard copies sold out quite quickly. Now it is available again in digital form as a pdf of 1.4 Mb.

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There’s a visionary, questing impetus behind Barry Patterson’s poetry, an energy that ensures he never settles for the trite or obvious – he writes of a world in which all landscapes, from the city centre to the furthest wilderness, exist in precarious interdependence on each other, and where the whole of history seems to be taking place simultaneously. What’s more, he knows that we ignore this at our peril. But there’s a musicality, too, that keeps the reader coming back for more, and lodges lines in the mind to deliver their vital message again and again.

Matt Merritt, author of The Elephant Tests and A Sky Full of Birds

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Barry Patterson deserves to be more widely known and his poetry more highly praised — and his new collection shows why. I challenge you to read “The Murmur” and not want to stand beneath the flight of birds and conceive celebrations of life. Some poets acutely observe the world, Barry also draws us with him into

fuller participation."

Graham Harvey, Professor of Religious Studies at the Open University, author of Food, Sex and Strangers: Understanding religion as everyday life.

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Barry's poetry makes me feel alive in my body - not just my heart and mind. It's fuel for the soul - there's richness and grit here. Fire and depth. An extraordinary collection!

Philip Carr-Gomm. Chosen chief of the Order of Bards Ovates & Druids.