RENAISSANCE

TITLE - RENAISSANCE 

WRITTEN BY - AMY CLENNELL 

PUBLISHED BY - CHERISH EDITIONS 

PUBLICATION DATE - 16TH MAY 2022

Poet Amy Clennell has overcome cerebral palsy and its associated disabilities to achieve major goals in her life and to take up writing, and “Renaissance” is her latest volume of poetry. There is certainly plenty of evidence of strength and determination in these wonderfully affecting poems.
There is a strong sense throughout the opening poem “Morwenna” of someone refusing to be beaten by their own imperfect body, but in “Ready To Fly” we get a harrowing glimpse of an unhappy childhood, and yet that inner strength shines through. 
Amy’s joy at a baby brother in “Sisterly Love” is heartwarming (even though she really wanted a sister) is followed by another show of that glorious f-you attitude in “Blessed” as Amy “duets” with singer Lemar at a concert in spite of an audience’s disapproval. Both angry and funny, when a poet rhymes “lackey” with “wacky baccy” you know you’ve discovered a rare talent! 
“My Alfie” is Amy’s heartfelt plea for connection with her autistic son, a stark and concise poem that hits hard. “The Elephant in the Classroom, “Special School”, Coundon” is a touching eulogy to a lost friend which displays Clennell’s poetical and linguistic skill at its very best. “Fringe of the Grove in Sunlight” and “Salvage” and “Sunflower Seeds of Hope” are a trio of cryptic verses with a lot of vivid and ethereal imagery. 
This continues in the series of poems inspired by paintings by artists such as Millais and Degas, and the short story “The Happy Prince” by Oscar Wilde. These are all very firmly rooted in the traditional poetic form yet there are glimpses of a cheeky frivolity in “The Jovial Jibes of the Swing” and “A Tragedy in Floriography” - Clennell isn’t being entirely serious here, despite the romantic and flowery language. “The Launderer’s Lament”, inspired by Edgar Degas’ painting “Women Ironing”, is the rhythmic, kinetic and funny inner monologue of a woman ironing rich men’s shirts. The “Sleeping Beauty”-inspired “A Gothic Romance” employs a clever acrostic device and is extremely vivid and windswept, while in “Courage and Kindness” Cinderella takes an uncertain step towards a new future, a poem that could be taken as an allegory of the courage Amy has shown in her life. 
Nature poem “Duel At Dawn” vividly conjures up the onset of winter. It’s the hallmark of a good poet if they can describe the unknowable power of the seasons. Violent death permeates “Postmortem” and “Lesson Learnt”, the latter depicting the drowning of a child by some kind of sea creature in lucid (and lurid) language, which shocks more due to its present-tense urgency. One of my favourites in the collection, “A Modern Troubadour”, all the more effective due to its conciseness, tells of a resolute minstrel unable to escape the inevitable end of his wandering existence. 
“Hope For Winter, A Story Of Dolphins”, inspired by the two “A Dolphin Tale” films, is an intense long-form poem about a dolphin enduring torment yet ultimately finding hope. “Evelyn Rose” is the titular pandemic baby, born uncertainly yet determined to survive; once again the overarching theme of survival against the odds is skilfully invoked.
The beautiful “In My Fairy Glen”, one of the true highlights of the book, shows how the simplest of things can conceal magic, while in the playful “Backyard Critters” relates a charming encounter with a baby turtle. “Fat Club” is a humorous snapshot of the temptations laid before a dieter, and the three “Limericks” that follow it, all about canine misadventures, are hilariously cheeky. 
Terrorism, London traffic and a headlong rush towards a TV appearance all combine in the heartwarming “An Unkindness of Ravens”, while in “Something To Do With Cake” Amy shares her joy at her brother’s wedding. “Sometimes The Grass Is Greener” is a tale of two people slowly becoming one, told through the metaphor of two horses, and is extremely touching and organic. 
This stunning collection is rounded off with the funny “What A Pantomime” about a panto Dame with a cheeky yet honest aspiration, and finally the colourful and vibrant “Renaissance”, a tribute to the Phoenix, and once again a metaphor for endurance against all odds. It is a magnificent end to an astonishing book. 
Simple yet apt artwork accompanies the poems while fragile haikus punctuate the text, acting as a palette cleanser. 
Amy Clennell has found a refuge in writing, and her readers will find a refuge in Amy Clennell’s writing. Gutsy, inspiring and uplifting, “Renaissance” is the best collection of poetry I have read for a long time; I am floored by Amy’s skill with words and emotions. I was put through the wringer but I loved every minute of it!

THE INVISIBLE WORLD IS IN DECLINE: BOOK IX

TITLE - THE INVISIBLE WORLD IS IN DECLINE: BOOK IX

WRITTEN BY - BRUCE WHITEMAN 

PUBLISHED BY - ECW PRESS 

PUBLICATION DATE - APRIL 12TH, 2022

Being the culmination of an ongoing, 40-year “long poem” that I am ashamed to admit I am unfamiliar with, “The Invisible World is in Decline: Book IX” by Bruce Whiteman brings the project to a stunning climax in three distinct parts. 

Less like poems than isolated paragraphs, or at times just single lines, “In Disgrace With God” explores lost love, and finds the poet seeing his empty bed as an accusatory constant in his life. Later the text touches on the purpose of a poet and of poetry, namely to be the “suffering artist”. There is pain and beauty here in equal measure.

The second piece is entitled “Wörte ohne Lieder”, literally “songs without words” (a twist on Mendelssohn's “Lied ohne Worte” collection of piano pieces), Bruce Whiteman proffers translations of texts that were set to music over the years; the works of Mahler and Beethoven becoming vaguely modern, pain-filled love letters.

Centrepiece of the collection is “The Nine”, with each numbered section named after the nine Muses. This work is quite wonderful and ostensibly each section corresponds with each Muse’s specific field of expertise. With interjections from the psychopomp, (a guide for souls travelling to the afterlife in Greek mythology, here becoming, according to Whiteman, the master of dreams) it is probably the best literary examination of the pandemic I have ever read. Whiteman utterly nails the isolation and boredom of lockdown-life; reading it left me aching more than my arm after the vaccine. He takes us on a visceral journey through nature as season inexorably follows season, and we get a strong sense throughout of the crushing weight of time and the endless days of nothingness during quarantine. 

Fragile yet occasionally brutal, this collection is sublime. It made a strong impression on me on my first reading, which is a good indication of the quality of the work, and I now feel compelled to explore the previous parts.

BORN IN LOCKDOWN

The trials and hardships of Covid lockdown are all too recognisable in this satisfying volume of poetry by Tolu’ A. Akinyemi - the silence, the boredom, the stress and uncertainty. A narrative theme can be discerned throughout the verses; strained marriages, financial difficulties and loss - all recognisable fallout from the pandemic. Akinyemi also touches on the political consequences and “anti-vax” conspiracy theories. Not your average subjects for poetry, I grant you, but it all works. 

Poems vary in length and effectiveness but one very powerful poem is entitled “F*ck - F*cking 2020” which begins - 

“How do we scrub 2020 from our history books? 

How do we f*ck it off 

as a one-off?”

This is followed by a short declaration of intent called simply “F*ck 2020” which consists of just these two lines - 

“Rollback the years, f*ck 

twenty-twenty. Wipe out the 

               scars that blurred the year.”

  

Some of the best poems are short, brutal verbal assaults, while others are longer but no less bruising. “Passports” in particular resonated with me -

“My left arm carries so much weight

and immunity.”

Been there, done that. 

As you would expect, several poems contain (and often repeat) the word “pandemic”. To my ears, this sounds like the least poetically versatile word ever. It is neither lyrical nor elegant; but maybe that’s the point. Sometimes it works, as in the case of “Stories” - 

“Paint this pandemic what it was - 

a sordid misadventure”

This doesn’t harm the poems themselves, but it becomes rather repetitive. But then I suppose we’re all sick of that particular word. 

Nobody has ever published a book of poetry entirely filled with superb odes, but while this volume has its share of unsuccessful poems, there are enough to make it a worthwhile read. I think Akinyemi is a better poet when he’s angry. He cuts very close to the bone at times and the world of lockdown he evokes will be painfully familiar to everyone. These poems are a worthy and satisfying record of one of the hardest years in human history.