1 JANUARY 1983, Page 24

P. J. Kavanagh

I am tempted to give, as my most enjoyed books of 1982, three by the same author, Geoffrey Grigson (published by Allison & Busby). The favourite adjective attached to Grigson seems to be 'quirky' but, if he is so, the quirk is in the direction of good sense. In his The Private Art: A Poetry Notebook and his reprinted literary journalism, Bless- ings, Kicks and Curses, he claims, correctly, that only good poets write sensibly about poetry, and his Collected Poems 1963-80 explain why he does ... I see I have yielded to the temptation.