Tender, exuberant and deliciously dark, Claudine Toutoungi's debut collection evokes the surreal humour of Matthew Sweeney and the candour of Emily Berry, while remaining disarmingly fresh in its blend of desire and dislocation. Roaming from metropolis to sculpture park to remote coastal town, Smoothie charts the wayward wanderings of a compelling cast of misfits - hotel eavesdroppers, city interlopers, lone wolves, phantom bird-watchers, disaffected language robots and triumphant piano-swallowers - as they grapple with the urge to communicate whatever the cost.
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[Because I think you'd like me better as an artefact / I sit for ages in the sculpture park / Flies settle on my arms - THIS IS NOT A FAD] ***(Carcanet Poetry, 30 November 2017, ebook, 80 pages, borrowed from the National Poetry Library)
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This is my first time reading this poet. I thought Smoothie was a great collection of poetry. I enjoyed every piece. The poems in Smoothie use vibrant imagery to convey meaning and ideas. They use rich, vivid language which was a pleasure to read. My particular favourites are Hijack, Fugue State, Dear Mrs Wilmot, The Lunatics, Slant and Winter Wolf. I'd recommend this collection and would definitely read more of this poet's work.