This new collection from one of Britain's most innovative poets is an exploration of identity in the face of loss. At its heart is a series of poems about the desolation of miscarriage. These poems try to understand the many different means we use to come closer to articulating, and avoiding, experience. Drawing on the language of comedy, improvisation, drag and clown, Low interrogates humour's role in enacting the possibility of change. A thought-provoking, irreverent and challenging book, Low exemplifies Chrissy Williams' ability to find 'seriousness in the apparently trivial and ephemeral' (Poetry Review). Chrissy Williams' first collection Bear (Bloodaxe) was one of The Telegraph's 50 Best Books of the Year in 2017. She has also published several pamphlets, one of which was shortlisted for the Michael Marks Award. Low is her second full-length collection.
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(@BloodaxeBooks, 20 May 2021, ebook, 80 pages, #ARC from the publisher via @edelweiss_squad)
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This is my first time reading the poet. I enjoyed a lot of the poems but overall felt the collection wasn't quite suited to my tastes. It was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I enjoyed the poems in part II - V1 the most. These poems are what I'd call more 'traditional poems'. I particularly enjoyed Joke, LA Story, Magic Kingdom and Holdfasts. The poetry in the first section are more innovative / experimental and mostly left me for cold.
