January 2024 Frip
![A photograph of someone diving into the sea. We can only see the legs.](https://thefridaypoem.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Jon-Stone-Dive-320x225.jpg)
‘Next time you dive’ (or How to play a poem)
Jon Stone takes a deep dive into how he approaches a poem
![The words MX Simp on a beige background.](https://thefridaypoem.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/MX-SIMP-by-Kate-Hendry-cover-320x225.jpg)
Resisting the shadows
Clare Best reviews MX SIMP by Kate Hendry (Mariscat Press, 2023)
![Photo of Jill Abram. She has long curly hair and is standing in front of trees.](https://thefridaypoem.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Jill-Abram-photo-by-Naomi-Woddis-1-320x225.jpg)
Castaway Companions
Jill Abram chooses poems by Edward Lear, Lemn Sissay and Jacqueline Saphra to take to her desert island
![Photo of Zoë Walkington. She has long dark hair and is smiling. She is standing in a field with trees behind her.](https://thefridaypoem.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Zoe-Walkington-photo-320x225.jpg)
Uncomfortable Bedfellows – Criminal Psychology and Writing Poetry
Zoë Walkington on how she managed to merge her two identities as poet and psychologist
![A black and white beetle seen from above on white textured paper.](https://thefridaypoem.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/I-Think-Were-Alone-Now-by-Abigail-Parry-front-cover-320x225.jpg)
The dull click-clink of gold against formica
Isabelle Thompson reviews I Think We’re Alone Now by Abigail Parry (Bloodaxe Books, 2023)
![Part of the words "Many Professional Wrestlers Never Retire" in white italic script font on a purple background.](https://thefridaypoem.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Dane-Holt-Pamphlet-Cover-Spreads-320x225.jpg)
The Heavyweight Champion of the World
Hilary Menos reviews Many Professional Wrestlers Never Retire by Dane Holt (The Lifeboat, 2023)
![Illustration of a 1950's style woman getting ready to stab a python with a dagger. I know right! Pretty racey for poetry (It's even got a yellow background!). I'll take it over an abstract thought doodle though.](https://thefridaypoem.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Shapeshifting-for-Beginners-by-Emma-Simon-320x225.jpg)
Are Poetry Reviews Pointless?
Helena Nelson plays with Shapeshifting for Beginners by Emma Simon (Salt, 2023)
![Composite image showing a dollar sign, a sixpenny piece, a bitcoin sign, a mackerel head and a figure with blue hair.](https://thefridaypoem.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/sixpence-1-320x225.jpg)
Sing a Song of Sixpence
Poet and financial journalist Emma Simon picks six poems about money
![A poem laid out a page in the shape of a bird. It looks old.](https://thefridaypoem.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Apollinaire_s-Calligrammes-La-Colombe-Poignardee-et-Le-Jet-D_Eau-320x225.jpg)
Poems of peace and war
We unpack three of Guillaume Apollinaire's 'calligrammes'