Liz Lochhead, former Makar (Scotland's Poet Laurette 2011-2016), is a writer and performer of immense warmth, writ and tenderness. She is a natural storyteller, and her instinctive feel for rhythm and voice constantly delight. In , she presents a crafted, personal selection of poems published over the last four decades. Love and memory are the driving forces behind these poems, which range in theme from language to landscape, heartache to history, writing to womanhood. At times poignant, at others funny, always heartfelt and full of verve, A Choosing is a celebration of one of Britain's finest contemporary poets.
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(Polygon, 1 January 2011, paperback, 112 pages, bought from AmazonUK)
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Liz Lochhead is one of my favourite poets. I fell in love with her book Dreaming Frankenstein when I just discovered poetry and started to read it and write it myself. To say her poetry changed my life is an understatement. Over a period of months I devoured her work and return to it again and again. The poems in this collection have been chosen by the poet. Nobody knows a poet's work better than the poet. I've come across some of these poems before but others were new to me the first time I read this book. I loved every poem in this book. I especially loved A Night In, The Offering, What the Pool Said on Midsummer's Day, Dreaming Frankenstein, Smirnoff for Karloff and Last Supper. I'd recommend this.
