Sad News: In Memory of Alun Robert

photo courtesy of Alun Robert

Alun Robert (writing name for Alan Woods)

Alun was a prolific poet from Scotland, based in Kent. As part of the Mid-Kent Stanza near Maidstone he was a dear friend to the group and a huge support to us all. Ever the gentleman he was quick to respond to emails and always willing to take time to offer advice on poetry in the making. He was published in many countries and had a passion for ekphrastic poetry. He considered The Ekphrastic Review to be a massive part of his poetry family and I am sure the readers will miss his wonderful and varied responses. There is ‘an Alun shaped hole’ in the poetry world which can never be filled. 

Kate Young

It is with our deepest sorrow that The Ekphrastic Review informs our readers that one of our beloved contributors, Alun Robert, recently passed away, unexpectedly in his home. Our many condolences to his wife, family, and friends. He was a widely published and prolific writer, frequently honoured by the Federation of Writers of Scotland, and a regular feature in our challenge and main thread pages. 

Alun was a thoughtful writer, carefully considering each artwork we posted, and sharing his process and discoveries about the artwork in his email with his submissions. He was joy to work with and publish. He contributed entries to the bimonthly challenges so frequently that we felt a sense of foreboding when he missed a deadline. Then we received the bad news from fellow contributor Kate Young.

​The photo of young Alan below is from our Throwback Thursday feature, where he recently shared a list of favourite works. The photo above was something he shared with us to show us the Review was an everyday part of his life. 

We will miss him.

budding writer, Alan Woods (Alun Robert).

(We published this poem of Alun's a month ago.)

The First Last Dance 
 
In their dance, a dance to the music of time 
treading a rhyme of rhythmic splendour 
without control of their spectacle 
four Seasons rollick with each other. 
 
Attired in their shimmering silks 
hair coiffured by all Hours 
Seasons sing of solstice 
while prancing hand-in-hand 
in ever-decreasing circles 
as Aurora proffers a new dawn 
through a pareidolia of Apollo, the chariot 
golden and horse-hitched 
to melodic strains of Time’s lyre 
reverberating through the ether 
in sight of the herma of Bacchus 
both youth and yesteryear. 
 
Seasons cavort, laughter echoes 
in the dance of outward facing veils 
over a testament of eternal trauma 
through yearnings for mortality 
against the deity of Time’s nudity 
with winged feathers sullen from 
his flight of introspection, the greybeard 
measured and transfixed 
without beginning or end 
twixt Seasons’ craving for continuity 
yet ignored by a couplet of cherub 
sheltering from the ides of Zodiac. 
 
The four Seasons frolic forever 
without control of their spectacle 
treading a rhyme of rhythmic splendour 
in their dance, a dance to the music of time. 
 
Alun Robert

Alun Robert is a prolific creator of lyrical free verse. He has achieved success in poetry competitions across the British Isles, Europe and North America. His work has been published by numerous literary magazines, anthologies and webzines in the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Italy, Turkey, India, South Africa, Kenya, USA and Canada. Since 2018, he has been part of The Ekphrastic Review community. He is a member of the Mid-Kent Stanza, Rye Harbour Poetry Group and Federation of Writers Scotland for whom he was a Featured Writer in 2019.

A Dance To The Music Of Time, by Nicolas Poussin (France) 1634-1636