Colin Pink writes poetry, drama and fiction. His plays have been produced in London, New York City and Berlin. He wrote the script for Touch which won numerous awards for best short film at international film festivals.
His poems and stories have appeared in a wide range of literary magazines such as Acumen; Poetry Ireland Review; Poetry News; Poetry Salzburg Review and American Writers Review. His first collection of poems, Acrobats of Sound, was published in 2016 by Poetry Salzburg. He lectures on the history of modern art, specialising in the interrelationship between the history of art and the history of ideas.
The Ventriloquist Dummy’s Lament, published by Against the Grain, is an exciting collaboration between poet and artist. It consists of a powerful combination of 21 villanelles by Colin Pink with 21 woodcuts by Daniel Goodwin inspired by the poems.
Upwards
We thought we were moving upwards, forever striving,
Reaching for rung after rung. All along we couldn’t see
The way up and the way down came to the same thing.
A sparrow swoops in one door and out again, flying
Through the hearth, swift hearted, from artifice it flees.
We thought we were moving upwards, forever striving
To complete the perfect circle. There was always something
Missing no matter how hard we searched. It couldn’t be
The way up and the way down came to the same thing.
All go into the dark whirlpool and there’s no returning:
Consumed in love, ambition, reverence, in each degree
We thought we were moving upwards. Forever striving,
Intoxicated with ideas of progress, we persisted, inventing
Many things with unexpected consequence. We didn’t see
The way up and the way down came to the same thing.
After a long journey, travelling in novelty, we’re becoming
Doubtful; did we live a toxic dream? It made our spine freeze:
We thought we were moving upwards, forever striving;
The way up and the way down came to the same thing.
Against the Grain Poetry Press 