Bee Journal Explained

Bee Journal is a 2012 poetry collection by Sean Borodale. It is written in the form of a journal and follows one colony for around one year, from the initial formation of the hive to the capture of a swarm.

Reception

A review in The Daily Telegraph of Bee Journal described it as "the most beautiful expression of what it is like to live with bees that you could hope to find.".^[1] Granta compared it to The Life of the Bee by Maurice Maeterlinck.^[2] It has also been reviewed by Varsity.^[3]

Bee Journal was shortlisted for the 2012 T. S. Eliot Prize,^[4] and the 2012 Costa Poetry Award.^[5]

Notes and References

1. News: Ian Douglas . 11 July 2012 . The Urban Beekeeper and Bee Journal: review . The Daily Telegraph . 11 March 2019.
2. Gillian Clarke . 15 May 2012 . 119 . Two Poems: Sean Borodale . Like Maurice Maeterlinck’s prose work, The Life of the Bee, this is bee-science as literature, nature poetry at its best. . Granta . Sigrid Rausing . 11 March 2019.
3. News: Giles Pitts . 4 December 2012 . Poetry: Sean Borodale - Bee Journal . This is a meditative, attentive and beautiful debut collection... . Varsity . Varsity Publications Ltd . 11 March 2019.
4. News: Alison Flood . 24 October 2011 . TS Eliot prize for poetry announces 'fresh, bold' shortlist . The Guardian . 11 March 2019.
5. Web site: Costa (Formerly Whitbread) Book Awards: Shortlist 1995 - Present . costa.co.uk . 11 March 2019 .