A Review By Keith Smith

“Five Tons Of Jam” is a collection of poetry that is thoughtful, provocative and often fun. As a man in his later years who is eternally young at heart, poet John Orland explores such themes as love and death, old age, family, and sexual desire in the not-so-lithe-and-lovely with the irreverent gusto that perhaps only the very experienced can muster. With it’s compelling energy and music, and flavours both sweet and tart, this is a truly edible little volume. So says Malcolm Gluck and who am I to disagree? He may even have written these delightful poems himself – I couldn’t say. But enjoy them I did, even as an uncultured person who professes not to like poetry. But I now see why John Orland has entitled his little book ‘Five Tons of Jam’

“….there is no excuse for poetry. Poetry gives no adequate return in money, is expensive to print by reason of the waste of space by its form, and nearly always promulgates illusoryconcepts of life. But a better case for the banning of all poetry is the simple fact that most of it is bad. Nobody is going to manufacture a thousand tons of jam in the expectation that five tons may be eatable.” Newspaper column Irish Times 1940’s