The Friday Poem

A poem every Friday

Book Reviews

Graphic showing an orange circle on a yellow background. A yellow shape like a small lightbulb dangles into the top of the circle.

O linger Sapphos of the lash-line!

Alan Buckley reviews PLUS ULTRA by Sarah Fletcher (CHEERIO, 2023)
A tangle of snow covered beaches, a small red bird sits on one, from a distance it could be mistaken for a heart.

I with my mother became we

Maggie Mackay reviews Grief’s Alphabet by Carrie Etter (Seren, 2024)
A landscape photograph showing grass, a cloudy sky and a small crenelated building with a tower that looks like a lighthouse, but is presumably a camera obscura

The strong verbs

Helena Nelson reviews Camera Obscura by Philip Rush (Garlic Press, 2023)
Two luminescent jellyfish (presumably of the 'moon' variety) on a blue background.

Watch how we glow

Karen Smith reviews Moon Jellyfish Can Barely Swim by Ness Owen (Parthian, 2023)
Artwork in a graphic style showing the back of a man walking towards a tall building with many windows. The sky appears to be on fire.

That day when we can watch it fall

Steven Lovatt reviews Joe Hill Makes His Way into the Castle by Katy Evans-Bush (CB Editions, 2024)
Photograph of two people walking on the beach at low tide. A shadowy coaster is seen in the background. This may or may not be relevant.

There now

D. A. Prince reviews This is You, Dear Stranger by Paula Jennings (Red Squirrel Press, 2024)
Image of a white skull on a black background. The skull has a pink flower in the right eye socket.

Say I was born in peacetime

Annie Fisher reviews Ruin, Blossom by John Burnside (Cape, 2024)
Woodcut showing a woman holding a baby.

Oh tears and blood

Hilary Menos reviews The Snow Globe by Jenny Pagdin (Nine Arches, 2024)
Section from a painting showing pair of well worn leather boots, hobnails on the soles.

Sequins stay sequins

D. A. Prince reviews The Asking: New and Selected Poems by Jane Hirshfield (Bloodaxe, 2024)
Close up photograph of a buttercup flower, blurred water is behind.

Alert, electric, alive

Maggie Mackay reviews A Change in the Air by Jane Clarke (Bloodaxe, 2023)
A blurry image that shows the sky in a light lilac hue. There are brown buildings at the bottom and three birds fly in from the right.

Across the border

Isabelle Thompson reviews Come Here to This Gate by Rory Waterman (Carcanet, 2024)
Section of what looks like a red tapestry showing a woman a unicorn and a fruit tree. the woman is sitting and the unicorn is resting its front hooves on the woman's leg. The tree remains impassive.

Embroidering a priest

Carl Tomlinson reviews Eleanor Among The Saints by Rachel Mann (Carcanet, 2024)