Most Read... John McAuliffeBill Manhire in Conversation with John McAuliffe
(PN Review 259)
Patricia CraigVal Warner: A Reminiscence
(PN Review 259)
Eavan BolandA Lyric Voice at Bay
(PN Review 121)
Joshua WeinerAn Exchange with Daniel Tiffany/Fall 2020
(PN Review 259)
Vahni CapildeoOn Judging Prizes, & Reading More than Six Really Good Books
(PN Review 237)
Christopher MiddletonNotes on a Viking Prow
(PN Review 10)
Next Issue Kirsty Gunn re-arranges the world John McAuliffe reads Seamus Heaney's letters and translations Chris Price's 'Songs of Allegiance' David Herman on Aharon Appelfeld Victoria Moul on Christopher Childers compendious Greek and Latin Lyric Book Philip Terry again answers the question, 'What is Poetry'
Poems Articles Interviews Reports Reviews Contributors
Reader Survey
PN Review Substack

This poem is taken from PN Review 157, Volume 30 Number 5, May - June 2004.

House Without Pity Fanny Howe

1

Paper is twisted
in the thin green trees

It's daybreak

A furry cloud huddles
on the groundswell

Light bulbs yellow
and shrill bells ring

School time!


2

Lengthening attention
to the tar-black
roof

ends with the glitter
of mica and ice

Books won't help a child
get out of this
house without pity


3

White plaster
and desks turned over

Schoolteachers' faces
...


Searching, please wait... animated waiting image