Kirjahaku

The poems in SIGHTINGS are accessible to many readers, both young and old. They consider what it is like to be a human being in this modern world, drawing inspiration mainly from the people whom the writer has encountered, especially in Hong Kong. "She has made use of everyday life situations and turned them into life lessons. Sightings inspires us to slow down and taste the sense of the city."- Ma Kwai Hung. "The poems in 'Sightings' are witty, poignant, full of memorable images and insights and a total delight. I was very impressed by the entire publication including the essay." - Professor Ken Pickering "Sightings conveys playfulness and ironic humour. The writer displays, 'a strong ethical sense and a constant and engaging lyricism'." -Marion Bethel, Bahamian poetBickley has, "a talent for turning the stuff of ordinary life into poetry. She continually surprises and delights by making fresh connections between seemingly disparate situations". - Mrs Margaret Clarke

The poems collected in Gillian Bickley's 'Over The Years' have been selected from her five previously published collections. "Not even the American minimalist William Carlos Williams could zero in on and capture a detail with more panache." - David Wilson, Sunday Morning Post (on For the Record) "The variety of human life and the individual response to life, these are Gillian Bickley's central interests."- Emeritus Professor I. F. Clarke and M. Clarke(on Moving House) "playfulness and ironic humour ... a strong ethical sense and a constant and engaging lyricism"- Marion Bethel (on Sightings)"spontaneous, on-the-spot immediacy and lingering, contemplative power"- Hilary Chan Tsz-Shan, Asian Cha (on China Suite)"harmonious connections between individuals of different backgrounds ... and] between humans and animals"- Michael Tsang, Asian Cha (on Perceptions)"...What firstly drew my attention was the savant level of her poetry; the science of balancing the rational with the sentiment...." - Dumitru M. Ion, Romania; Member of the Arts and Sciences Academy in R. Macedonia, etc.

Avvistamenti, pensieri e sentimenti contiene poesie raccolte dalle precedenti cinque collezioni di Gillian Bickley, "Per la cronaca" (2003), "Trasloco" (2005), "Avvistamenti" (2007), la "Cina Suite" (2009) e "Percezioni" (2012), scelte da Verner Bickley. "Sightings, Thoughts and Feelings" contains collected poems from Gillian Bickley's previous five collections, "For the Record", "Moving House", "Sightings", "China Suite" and "Perceptions", selected by Dr Verner Bickley, MBE. // Recensione libro: La collezione di poesie di Gillian Bickley, tradotta da Luisa Ternau, non poteva avere titolo migliore. In un arco di tempo che va dal 1972 al 2015, Bickley ci accompagna attraverso molti "avvistamenti", in varie parti del mondo, che lasciano emergere una variet di pensieri e sentimenti, stimolando la curiosit del lettore.Gillian Bickley ci guida attraverso le reminiscenze una Hong Kong che non c' pi , ma anche attraverso le Midlands inglesi, la Scozia, Andorra, l'Albania. Ritroviamo fotografie, musica, resti archeologici, animali, piante e fiori. Tanti sono anche i ricordi dei vari personaggi - conosciuti di persona o semplicemente osservati. Tutti, in qualche modo sono diventati oggetto di ispirazione per l'autrice. Non mancano le riflessioni sul senso della vita e della morte, che prendono forma da episodi o incontri anche casuali. Raccomando vivamente questa raccolta di poesie. Il verso di Bickley coinvolgente: con grazia e gentilezza ci permette di entrare a far parte dell'interessante e ricco mondo lirico di questa poetessa. -Paola Caronni //Commento: Le tre parole del titolo riassumono molto bene il contenuto di questa raccolta di poemi. La poesia di Gillian Beckley poesia d'osservazione, dove l'autore come un esperto volatile si posa, ora in un punto, ora in un altro, spostandosi continuamente, cambiando di luogo e di prospettiva per dedicarsi ai suoi avvistamenti con un'analisi appassionata. Con il tocco e la leggerezza di un uccello, la penna dell'autore lascia sul foglio le sue impronte, le sue impressioni, le sue osservazioni, i suoi "pensieri". Il poeta-volatile compie escursioni nello spazio-tempo, posandosi tra i ricordi in una sala durante un concerto, conversando con un amico albero, peregrinando in una via affollata di Hong Kong o in un villaggio di Andorra o in una cittadina della campagna inglese tra nostalgie e "sentimenti" verso parenti ed affetti familiari. Un libro da scoprire, leggendolo in silenzio...perch il silenzio come l'oro... -Angelo Rizzi // Comment by Angelo Rizzi: The three words of the title summarize the content of this collection of poems very well. Gillian Bickley's poems are observational. The author, like a skilled bird, alights, now in one place, now in another, constantly moving, changing place and perspective to dedicate herself to her "sightings" with passionate scrutiny and analysis. With the touch and lightness of a bird, the author's pen leaves her footprints, her impressions, her observations, her "thoughts" on the paper. The 'poet-in-flight' travels through space and time, alighting among her memories: - of a hall during a concert, trees she communicated with; wandering in a crowded street, whether in Hong Kong, an Andorran village, a town in the English countryside, experiencing and expressing at the same time nostalgia and "feelings" towards relatives and dear ones. A book to discover, reading it in silence ... because silence is like gold ... -Angelo Rizzi

Grandfather's Robin collects 63 poems written or completed since Gillian Bickley's last poetry collection, Perceptions, was published in 2012. To some extent these new poems reflect her activities, thoughts and experiences during the period from 2012, including in Hong Kong and Andorra. But some concern previous experiences, recorded in earlier years. At least one - the sympathetic and affectionate portrait of her maternal grandfather - is a synthesis of childhood memories. She responds to people, to fellow-creatures (defined from a biblical perspective and including mammals, birds, trees, the moon and human manufactures), considers social behaviour (including as a response to political change, and as reflected in exhibited works and their visitors), and also reflects on concepts of eschatology and survival. She aims to communicate as simply as possible and to elicit or extend what her readers may already know from their own different lives and experiences.

Frederick Stewart became the first headmaster of what is now called Queen's College in Hong Kong. (Then it was called, the Hong Kong Government Central School for Boys; the first school to be founded and fully funded by the Hong Kong Government.) Born in the small village of Rathen, near Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK, Stewart was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School in the time of the famous Rector, James Melvin, and then at the University of Aberdeen. After graduating with first class honours in Moral Philosophy, he began to train to be a minister at Divinity Hall, also at the University of Aberdeen. However, seeing an advertisement seeking applications to become the first head of a new school in Hong Kong and at the same time Inspector of all Government Schools, he applied, and was chosen among a very large field of applicants.Stewart arrived in Hong Kong in 1862 and died there in 1889, having only one period of home leave during the period.In time he was promoted to become Police Magistrate, Registrar General and finally Colonial Secretary (i.e. head of the permanent Hong Kong Government administration), at times acting as governor.This book has gathered the facts from around the world as testified by the long list of acknowledgements and has been called the definitive biography of Frederick Stewart. The Golden Needle demonstrates the degree to which Stewart's background and experience in Scotland (and briefly in England) made him an ideal person for the Hong Kong career that he pursued, giving him an understanding for the situation of those who sought education within the Hong Kong education system at the time. He came to be valued as successfully working towards creating a mutual understanding between the different groups within Hong Kong society. Queen's College is still a premier school in Hong Kong and Stewart is still remembered for his personality and achievements. The Old Boys are in recent years very active in building up an impressive archive for the school. // "Dr Bickley's life of Frederick Stewart is beautifully written, eminently readable, and at times moving." - Lady Saltoun. //"To all intents and purposes, Stewart's life and work was lost to posterity until the publication of this biography - the product of some eight years of devoted research which spanned the globe. The end product is certainly worth the effort. We need more studies of this type if we are to understand fully the complexities of colonial rule. The life stories of men like Stewart highlight both the high and low points of colonial service, the personal sacrifices that were often made and the legacies left behind. I] thoroughly enjoyed this book." - Clive Whitehead, University of Western Australia, Int. J. of Lifelong Education.//"Bickley tells the story with unswerving admiration and many vivid touches." - Douglas Hurd, The Scotsman.

This collection of sixty poems was written during almost thirty years' residence in Hong Kong. Most are on explicitly Hong Kong topics, and reflect the writer's personal experience and knowledge of Hong Kong. Those who have emigrated or who have spent a period of time overseas will empathise with the expatriate experience described. Other poems narrate and reflect on personal events and concerns which will resonate with many. // GILLIAN BICKLEY has lived mainly in Hong Kong since 1970. This, the first of her six collections of poetry, was first published in 2003. Some predate 1997, the year that Hong Kong was returned to the Government of the People's Republic of China.