The Monk's Dream Author:James Harpur The title poem of James Harpur's second book tells the story of the monk who dreamed the death of William II. The king did indeed die the next day, shot by a stray arrow from Walter Tyrell's bow while out hunting in the New Forest. Both an intriguing monologue in the voice of one of the king's advisers, and a meditation on death and destiny, it ... more »strikes the keynote in a book which includes a visionary account of climbing Croagh Patrick in the West of Ireland and a compelling version of the Lazarus story. At the heart of the collection lies a sonnet sequence on the death of the poet's father, which treats this universal subject with humour, dignity and great tenderness. It won James Harpur the 1995 National Poetry Competition.« less