Jinx: a ruinous charm, a quickdraw curse, a knight's move.
Abigail Parry's first collection is concerned with spells, and ersatz spells: with semblance and sleight-of-hand. It takes its formal cues from moth-camouflage and stage magic, from the mirror-maze and the masquerade, and from high-stakes games of poker.
Jinx asks about the equivocal nature of artifice, and the mischief behind the trick. The poems deal in forms of influence: in seduction and persuasion, infatuation and obsession. They want to talk about what we submit to, and what we are compelled by.
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[Emma, you're a gamer / Backgammon, anagrams / the matches and the banter EMMA, YOU'RE A GAMER]***
(Bloodaxe Books, 29 March 2018, 96 pages, ebook from @natpoetrylib via @OverDriveLibs)
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This is a truly dazzling collection of poems. It's one of the most breath-taking and original collections that I've read in ages. The poems are fun and whimsical but laced with sinister and menacing undertones. The poems in Jinz are different than the poems I usually read which tend to be emotional and personal. These poems are very different. Stepping outside your comfort zone can be a good thing and definitely was in this case. These poems are full of visual language, strange images and otherworldly impressions. The amazing cover lured me in and each poem was a treat. This collection has a lot of fairytale, dark fairytale and fantasy elements. Truly remarkable.
