Articles of War by Marilyn Longstaff
When Marilyn Longstaff’s Salvation Army Officer parents dedicated her to God, they promised to keep her from jewellery, finery and other worldly pleasures. At the age of fourteen, she signed the Army’s ‘Articles of War’, vowing to reject ‘the values of the world’, to be ‘a faithful steward’ of her time, body, mind and spirit, and to abstain from ‘all else that could enslave the body or spirit.’ Articles of War is a book about a jealous God, a fondly remembered childhood and English seaside holidays perfectly balanced between hope and disappointment. It is a book about a life haunted by ‘the ghost of a faith she’s lost’, about rules and hierarchies, belief and freedom and the small steps that pave the path to hell.
Some comments on Raiment:
‘A poet with an immense talent to engage and amuse. Longstaff is also brave enough to turn a peeled eye to life's disturbing realities.’
Peter Bennet
‘laugh-out-loud but mind-your-step poems, droll, thoughtful and completely without pretension.’
Bill Greenwell
Smokestack Books
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