Collected Poems

Michael Scott originally had a background in biology as a field botanist and ornithologist but has worked in a number of fields including management and as a landscape painter. This book contains poems from different phases of his life, and the tone is very direct. He speaks about being spat out of the cosmic vacuum cleaner to find a dead sister, a wounded wife and a fine-shredded self speculating on evolutionary questions. Another poem is an ironic commentary on evangelical fervour called clappybabbypsychohappy and refers to the iron grip of dismissive certainty and the believer in unbelief. His encounter with Sir Peter Medawar makes him realise that he was 'unomniscient', and that both science and religion for incomplete, leading him to muse on the supposed supremacy of the gene. All this encourages the reader to think through some important perennial issues.