Shadowtrain 7 is a special issue dedicated to the work of William Wantling (1933-1974). As well as a generous selection of poems,  from the earlier tightly structured The Awakening to the looser style of 10,000 r.p.m. and digging it, yeah! , there are articles by Edward Lucie-Smith, Peter Finch and Kevin Jones. 

Since Wantling's death in 1974, his poetry has been unjustly neglected. It is time for the work of this 'Outsider Beat'  to be reconsidered. Hopefully, publication in Shadowtrain will bring Wantling's poetry to the attention of  new readers.

Wantling, a veteran of the South Korean war, began writing poetry in San Quentin Prison in the late 50's. As Len Fulton wrote, 'One approaches in no orthodox way. The images are rich, the language is courageously direct, adorned only in the cause of intensity. The drive is relentless...there is no reference from which he might shrink.'