Overview: Nicholas Hagger’s Collected Poems contained 30 volumes of his poems, and Life Cycle and Other New Poems contained volumes 31–34. Together they reflect his quest along the Mystic Way, and the vision of unity and harmony to which it led.

The Oak Tree and the Branch contains volumes 35–41 and continues his presentation of apparent conflicts and the underlying unity of the universe within his Arcadia.

Verdict: The Oak Tree and the Branch sees the UK’s departure from Europe as a lopped branch from the Tree of Tradition of European civilization. The Tapestry dwells on his rootedness in the past, especially in the Tudor time.

A Plague in Arcadia: Oneness with Nature and the Universe presents a host of nature poems in his local Fairmead’s Arcadian paradise during the spread of coronavirus, the Covid plague. An Oval Cloud presents a sequence of encounters with an oval cloud seen behind his closed eyes, which he tries to understand.

Court Poems: More Royal Classical Odes includes Royal events: a wedding, two funerals and a coronation, and another lopped branch. In Arcady: A Gong and Padded Stick surveys his Providential life. And the harrowing Agony in Arcady: Stroke wrings from him the whole range of emotions as he comes to terms with his daughter’s severe stroke (another lopped branch) and heroic endurance.

As I think we all know by now, author Nicholas Hagger is much more than just that: he is a British poet, man of letters, cultural historian, and philosopher123. He has lectured at universities in Iraq, Libya, and Japan, and written more than 50 books on history, literature, and philosophy23. His literary works include collected poems, epics, mock-heroic poems, verse plays, masques, and collected stories.

In what is a quite masterful new compilational prose from the prolific Hagger, being British myself, what I particularly find the most impressive - although the whole compilation is a masterful stroke of lyrical genius - is how he melds an array of questions that have come fast and furious from Brexit, as a whole, and how Britian foreshadowed a more prevalent role within a more supposed united world.

I mean, as one would fully expect, Hagger knows a lot about this, and all the other subjects to hand, his grasp of all the smaller foibles of the machinations along with the much bigger, bolder strokes of the moves made - and still to be made - make for one of the most fascinating, wholly compelling reads that I have had the pleasure to sit down and read; and cover to cover, I will add (albeit over a couple of three weeks, given its 456 pages of an opus in size).

About the Author - Nicholas Hagger is the author of more than 50 books that include a substantial literary output and innovatory works within history, philosophy, literature and international politics and statecraft. As a man of letters he has written over 2,000 poems, two poetic epics, five verse plays, 1,200 short stories, two travelogues and three masques. In 2016 he was awarded the Gusi Peace Prize for Literature, and in 2019 the BRICS silver medal for Vision for Future. He lives in Essex, UK.

Official Book Purchase Link

www.nicholashagger.co.uk