Connie Bensley's poems are sharply satirical, often poking fun at social pretence and suburban pretension. They present a comedy of manners in which mismatched characters are bounced between love, death and disappointment. Hers is a seemingly small world but one which spans a whole universe of everyday life. Finding a Leg to Stand On is a retrospective selection of her delightfully pointed poems drawn from six collections published over three decades, plus new work.
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[I have sat here at this table now for years / I have a race memory of this place / Its formal flora, face-distorting spoons / And the indigenous tribes of bearers and borers ANNUAL DINNER]***
(@BloodaxeBooks, 27 March 2014, e-book, 192 pages, borrowed from @natpoetrylib via @OverDriveLibs)
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I'd never heard of the poet before I read this collection, at least her name isn't familiar at all. I liked the front cover so decided to take a chance on her work. I really enjoyed the poems in this collection. They vary in length but are mostly one to two pages. The subject matter is really diverse and ranges from love, death, hope, making choices, making mistakes and learning lessons. The poems are vivid and the use of imagery is impressive. My favourite poems are Desires, The Night Light on the Mantelpiece, Terribly Weak Please Come, Incubus, Holding Hands in the Movie Show, Page-Turner and I Am Sending You This Present.
