Against the Woods’ Dark Trunks: Poems https://amzn.eu/d/ePdFCsz
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#TheSealeyChallenge: Day Four. Magic Lives In Girls by Sadee Bee. A highly charged exploration of a girl coming into womanhood. Images that engrave themselves on your brain. Bewitching words that vividly and dramatically bring vitality and energy. Highly recommended. A fuller review will appear in The Broken Spine.
#TheSealeyChallenge: Day Three. Confronting The Elements by Samantha Terrell. Highly recommended. Ideally this should be read after reading her “Keeping Afloat”, that explores the element of water, its metaphorical and physical qualities. This new book progresses through fire, wind and ends grounded in earth. Samantha carefully, concisely explores the sometimes contradictory facets of these elements, complemented by Jane Cornwell’s excellent water colours. A fuller review will appear in The Broken Spine.
Confronting the Elements: A Poetry Collection https://amzn.eu/d/gYWX5Jn
TheSealeyChallenge: Day Two. Wrappings in Bespoke by Sanjeev Sethi. Witty, concise. Addictive love of language. You will find yourself adoring the new words you learn that lend a profound depth to these concise observations. Highly recommended. A fuller review will appear in The Broken Spine.
#TheSealeyChallenge: Day One. Rebel Blood Cells by Jamie Woods. Vivid, sharply humorous account of cancer, written in excellent poetic forms and words that convey the journey with wit and precision. Highly recommended. A fuller review will appear in The Broken Spine.
“Created Responses To This Day” Pearl Pirie responds to one of my This Day images. I would love to feature your responses too.
Daffodil photo by Paul Brookes
the poetry unit. continuing education who am I to explain to seniors the poetry they grew up on in Hong Kong? a crowd of coiffed chic women, curls and designer clothes and combover man dressed for the office twenty years after he left it but happy to indulge me as a host, to show him again those golden daffodils. the frail elderly woman with jacket of quilted down so common to Chinese peasants did not care if my ego nagged at me fraud. we are all gathered for things non-verbal, the poetry an excuse for what spills around the edges: break time tai chi, shaking hand the sugar off the saucer leaving a quarter moon on the laminate table, pictures from grandkids wealthy enough to travel. at thirty two I had had foist at me or been the foister of the poppies growing row on row dozens of times. that tiresome sad old chestnut like the national anthem with its war march of monarch— dried hard from so many occasions turned over on the coals, but this time was there a greek chorus? a ghost wail sound, a primal distress. looking in the direction of it, the friendly hound puppy of a seniorhad been weeping until his collar was damp until I saw him and he had to express explanation: “all those dead, short days ago we lived. we lived” his shoulders heaving. gulping breaths crying aloud. “excuse me excuse me.” “sensitive” gasp. the purr from those around, soothing, empathetic hums. “stroke.” “emotional” the whole room rose in their sympathy, our hearts surrounding the old soldier. and as he found composure words became again the men that they once were. Pearl Pirie
Bio and Links
Pearl Pirie
is an editor and an award winning Quebec poet. Adding Up to Thisis out from Catkin Press! Another new chapbook, A Couple Sumerians, is available from Turret House Press. Support her at Patreon for the price of a coffee or less and see behind the scenes poem drafts. Or at Substack and read essays on poetics. www.pearlpirie.com
The Wombwell Rainbow 