Walking With Camels – Tony Howson

Comments and reviews on Walking with Camels

“A lifetime of remote and often dangerous travel is distilled in this remarkable collection of experience and thought. The poems, photographs and narrative shine a light into some troubled corners of the world in a profound, moving and deeply personal way.”

Nick Adcock – Journalism trainer

“How glad I am to see the poems ‘The playground’, ‘Easter 1993/2015’, ‘When Slavic brothers meet’, ‘Sehnsucht’, ‘The women’s conference…Somalia’ and ‘Istanbul’ in this book.”

Felix Hodcroft – Poet

“Rarely has contemporary poetry impacted so personally on me. Howson has known murderously bumpy places, uncertain times and the addictive nature of risk. Behind his eyes are images that do not fade and, in his head, wisdom that doesn’t give way to cynicism. Instead, they imbue his verse and prose with a reporter’s awareness of truths – political and human – that his trade cannot always adequately reflect.”

Geoffrey Seed – Author and former investigative journalist

“I’m tempted to say that it’s sui generis. The form as well as the story is uniquely Howson. The only reference I have is with some of the books of John Berger.”

Christopher Hale – Non-fiction writer and documentary producer

“When I came to the end, I felt really quite emotional! I like the prose pieces which add interest and context and give a bit of a break from the emotional intensity of the poetry which is really great! There is variety in style appropriate to the subject matter…beautifully illustrated for me in ‘Istanbul’ but equally present in most of the work. Lovely.”

Jane Sudworth – Writer

“This is lyrical thinking from the writer’s ‘nomadic hopscotch existence’, a rewarding journey of words through landscapes, politics and feelings. Here is a man who has stared into the flames, from Somalia to Istanbul, but is also not afraid to talk about the soul or to celebrate a spicy meal with friends. He writes, sometimes elliptically in poetry and sometimes pointedly in prose, of things that seem to be always with us – concentration camps, prisons, rigged elections, sunrises and sunsets, sorrow, dancing and love. I invite you to walk with him in the camels’ footsteps. By the end of your journey, you will have learned some wisdom about the strange, unjust and often beautiful world we live in, and you will have made a new friend.”

Adam Strickson – Writer and theatre director working at the University of Leeds

“It`s one of the most mesmerizing things I have read. In a word, brilliant. It`s a clever, fascinating theme that works, and the intertwining of a vast range of human emotions and experiences holds the reader to the page. A masterstroke.”

Beranice Semp- Journalist (retired)