Pamphlet Reviews

What looks like an ancient Greek plate or bowl. A bloke with a bad back seems to be have been bitten by a snake and he is gesticulating towards a reclining fellow who is possibly having his heart pecked out by a large bird of prey. Lotta blood, but they were rough in them days.

Lots wider inside than it looks

Stephen Payne reviews The Nature Thief by Henry Walters (The Waywiser Press, 2022)

Part of book cover showing Kite form by Mike Barlow — a piece of abstract art (because we have learnt by now that nothing says competent poet more than a bit of random abstract artwork). Painted driftwood is the background to geometric shapes in shades of blue. These are criss crossed with bits of fine string. Told you ... poetry.

To walk, move the ground backwards

Mat Riches reviews Spider Time by William Gilson (Wayleave Press, 2022)

Three cover images. The first shows some red fruits on branches, the second shows a prism or beaker with blue shapes inside and the third is a turquoise and blue wavy pattern.

Living between languages

Jane Routh reviews three new pamphlets from Verve Poetry Press – Nemidoonam by Nasim Rebecca Asl, Bird Cherry by Roshni Gallagher and Tapping at Glass by Tim Tim Cheng

Graphic print showing a woman's head and arm in pale colours. She is wearing a crown of flowers.

of bodies / of light / of weightlessness

Khadija Rouf reviews Antonyms for Burial by Ellora Sutton (Fourteen Poems, 2022)

A bold orange cover showing a line / brush outline of a male torso.

A rebozo threaded by an ancient needle

Richie McCaffery reviews At Least This I Know by Andrés N. Ordorica (404 Ink, 2022)

An old black and white photo of two kids, one older boy and a younger girl.

Catch the heart off guard and blow it open

Annie Fisher reviews Skin & Blister by Blake Morrison (Mariscat, 2023)

Section of a multi coloured book cover (think slightly psychedelic swirly greens pinks and purples). Part of the words "Dirty Martini" can be seen in block capitals.

SEQUINS NOW

Isabelle Thompson reviews Dirty Martini by Natalie Shaw (Broken Sleep Books, 2023)

Mostly orange and orange tinted cover showing what looks like a woman's face half hidden by something that appears to be a vertical semi transparent column with thin diagonal white stripes on it.

Monsoon night-song

Steven Lovatt reviews Mother of Flip-Flops by Mukahang Limbu (Out-Spoken Press, 2022)

Now, If you have been paying attention you will have noticed my increasing frustration with book covers that really show no effort. This one is kind of pinkish with a cartridge paper like lined texture, almost as if they hade made the cover from, well, pinkish cartridge paper.

Images of aftermath

Mat Riches reviews Exposed Staircase by Will Eaves (Rack Press, 2022)

A line drawing showing an anchor and a compass on a cream background.

A slick torpedo hurled from the blue depths

Isabelle Thompson reviews Temporary Stasis by Lucy Holme (Broken Sleep Books, 2022)

Cream text on a red background. For added excitement, this text is vertical!

Yielding to water

Clare Best reviews The Water People / Gens de l’eau by Vénus Khoury-Ghata, translated by Marilyn Hacker (Poetry Translation Centre, 2022)

Portion of a book cover showing an abstract image (I know , another one, but this one is quite good). The background is horizontal thick blue and red wavy lines. On top of this are some flat yellow graphics representing wooden signposts.

Haunted, haunting, cursed and cursing

Bruno Cooke reviews Farewell Tour by Stefan Mohamed (Verve, 2022)