Jo Clement's first collection confronts Romantic impressions of British Gypsy ethnicity and lyrically lays them to rest. From Wordsworth to Top Gear, her poems invite us to consider notions of otherness, trespass and craft. She steps between ancient stopping places and mardy council estates to trill elegiac Romanes, English, and birdsong about witches, wild camping and Silver Cross prams. Compelled by a brutal Gypsy, Roma and Traveller diasporic legacy, Outlandish tenderlypraises the poem-as-protest and illuminates a hidden and threatened culture.
***
You know which way the wind is blowing in a Bewick, if it blows at gale. THE IMPRESSION OF WATER
***
(@BloodaxeBooks, 26 May 2022, ebook, 80 pages, #ARC from the publisher via @edelweiss_squad)
***
***
This is a debut. Outlandish is a fantastic piece of work. I can't wait to see what the poet comes up with next. I enjoyed every poem on offer here. I loved the way the poet explores her Gypsy heritage as well as social ideas about Gypsies through a wide range of subjects and ideas. The poems are fierce, powerful and utterly compelling. I loved it.
I live in Irvine in the Scotland with my partner. I work in the Financial Services. I like reading especially Joyce Carol Oates and Stephen King. I write fiction and poetry. I enjoy watching TV (Grimm, Torchwood, Doctor Who, Lip Service, The L Word etc). I like to play video games and am a fan of survival horror especially the Silent Hill franchise. I like to watch movies especially horror and anything where someone dies. View All Posts
