Book Reviews
![Two green arrows show road directions and the letters A34 are shown in yellow.](https://thefridaypoem.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/A34-1-320x225.jpg)
What clings to its underside
Stephen Payne reviews House on the A34 by Philip Hancock (CB Editions, 2023)
![A black background with a painting of a vertical hand. A small red snake is entwined in the fingers and the tail seems to be piercing the palm.](https://thefridaypoem.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Raptures-Road-320x225.jpg)
Regal, speared, violent
Michael Grieve reviews Rapture’s Road by Seán Hewitt (Penguin Books, 2024)
![The words 'God Complex' in a yellow serif font on a light green background. Its a Faber cover. I think that they are a bit dull to be honest ... but you know, one person's dull is the other person's classic.](https://thefridaypoem.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/God-Complex-by-Rachael-Allen-COVER-320x225.jpg)
How wholly are we to be pressed?
Will Snelling reviews God Complex by Rachael Allen (Faber, 2024)
![A painted book cover with a blue background. A thick swirling dark blue brush stroke bisects the page horizontally. three partial circles hover in the background like alien planets. Light blue, mid blue and (nope not another blue) red.](https://thefridaypoem.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Words-of-Mercury-by-Alasdair-Paterson-COVER-320x225.jpg)
Pangolins and Plainsong
Annie Fisher reviews Words of Mercury by Alasdair Paterson (Shearsman Books, 2024)
![Dark navy blue background with semi-circular lines in green and blue. They look a bit like the lines you draw around a radio tower or loudspeaker, to indicate vibration or noise.](https://thefridaypoem.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Silence-by-Gillian-Clarke-1-320x225.jpg)
A voice from the silence
Jane Routh reviews The Silence by Gillian Clarke (Carcanet, 2024)
![Two poetry book covers, one purple with a white crumpled paper image and one black/brown with textures of light brown and semi transparent words.](https://thefridaypoem.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/How-to-poetry-2-320x225.jpg)
‘How to’ Poetry — Part Two
We review books on poetry from Fly on the Wall Press and Smith|Doorstop
![A misty photo showing train tracks disappearing to a vanishing point.](https://thefridaypoem.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Taking-Liberties-by-Leontia-Flynn-320x225.jpg)
I eat clean but train dirty. That’s perfection.
D. A. Prince reviews Taking Liberties by Leontia Flynn (Cape, 2024)
![Scrawled writing and symbols in black red and yellow completely cover a parchment-coloured background.](https://thefridaypoem.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/asemic-640-dark-320x225.jpg)
‘How To’ Poetry — Part One
We review books on poetry from Nine Arches Press and Roger Robinson
![What looks like an old, hand-drawn parchment map. There are lots of words written – 'Iwerddon' and 'Byzantium' are two of them.](https://thefridaypoem.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Wild-Cherry-by-Nigel-Jenkins-433-320x225.jpg)
Cofiwch Dryweryn!
Steven Lovatt reviews Wild Cherry by Nigel Jenkins (Parthian Books, 2023)
Let poems be the windows, not the views
Helena Nelson reviews Divisible by Itself and One by Kae Tempest (Picador, 2023)
![A photograph of a man wearing a spotless white shirt, a paisley tie and a beige cardigan. Only the lower half of the face is visible,](https://thefridaypoem.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/The-Remaining-Men-by-Martin-Figura-COVER-320x225.jpg)
Soldier, astronaut, photographer, accountant … poet
Annie Fisher reviews The Remaining Men by Martin Figura (Cinnamon Press, 2024)