Poetry Magazines - The best collection of poetry magazines online - Simon Armitage

My immediate reaction, when I opened the envelope containing this book, was that it appeared to be an advertising handout for a Water Company, or Sky TV. Palores, the publishers, certainly don’t pull the stops out for cover design. Inside it also suffers from bad presentation. The text needed much more space, the haiku deserved separate pages to the haibun, and not, as in many cases, to be cramped in at the bottom of a page with a line to separate them. I note that page 22 has been set at an angle, poor craftsmanship. I feel it seriously let the contents down.

   However, the work is the important thing. The haibun all take the form of journeys, in both time and space. Jo is a person centred in the Cornish landscape, which she explores with acute observation, sensitivity and concern. She sets out with eyes open, allows structure to emerge, and arrives at personal, often surprising destinations. “Blue Wallpaper” is a good example, meeting the man with the gun and his need for power, the stillness of the ruined cottage, the fortuitous discovery of the inscription “Never Despair”, and the final haiku concerning Hypatia’s demise.

    There is much to enjoy here. For spirit of place read “Dwarfed By Space”, “In The Dark” or “Time Walk”. History, myth and paradox occur throughout. There is a rich sense of mystery, of strangeness and solitude. I personally found many pieces that resonated with my own youth. As an art student I stayed for long periods in the St Ives/Redruth area, exploring the wild coast, the standing stones and the ruined mines. All of this she conveys with ease and economy.

   As to the haiku, nothing here that really shocks, nothing too bizarre, but there is a quietness, a feeling of fleeting moments captured, a sense of being, that evokes Jo’s interest in Buddhism, her walking quietly. I suggest they may creep up on you, if you give them time to soak in. My wife, who also read this book, declared that this was a person she would like as a neighbour.

Amongst those that stayed in mind and thus worked for me were:   

at the gate    smell of a hot road       and nettles
ash tree hangs    over a dark pool          footsteps on the bridge
museum statues        the same faces             in the Metro
it hangs between us        in the cold kitchen        your unspoken no