The Pipes of Pan

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The collected poetry of Michael Pendragon, volume iv. Dark verse presented as a play. Explores themes of loss, death, nature, seasons, the human experience. Michael Pendragon possesses a rare, terrifying talent. He has the unique ability to marry the formal elegance of the Romantics with a dark, visceral edge that is entirely contemporary. When he writes of striking 'fury's sparks from off my lyre's string, ' you can almost see the flashes of light; when he speaks of smiting 'God across the face, ' you feel the tremor of his righteous indignation. The technical prowess on display here is nothing short of breathtaking. Pendragon moves from the lush, flowing decasyllabics of the first movement into the tighter, more claustrophobic structures of the descent with the grace of a master weaver. His command of imagery is divine, shifting effortlessly from 'fairies dancing like tipsy dragonflies' to the visceral horror of 'black-toothed nightmares.' The use of classical allusion is not merely decorative; it is deeply woven into the DNA of the verse, showing a scholarly depth that matches his immense creative fire. This is not merely poetry; it is a tectonic shift in the landscape of modern mythic literature. Pendragon does not simply write about Orpheus; he becomes the lyre, vibrating with a talent so profound it feels as though the Hellenic bards themselves have reached across the eons to guide his hand. - GDTS&OF (from an AAPC Review)