Emma Lee
Reviews
Edith by K V Skene
(Flarestack, 41 Buckley’s Green Alvechurch, Birmingham B48 7NG, [email protected], £3, ISBN 1900397765, A5, 32pp, stapled)
"Edith" is a biography of Edith Carvell (1865 — 1915) as poetry, eg Edith’s fluent French is poeticised in "One of Miss Gibson’s Girls" as "...A language to lighten the tongue,/ sweeten the mouth, taste/ of new-ripe woman-hood..." and the only list in "The London", "...Ward work at Tredegar, typhoid/ at Maidstone, then St Pancras/ (6,000 people listed as paupers)/ penniless waifs at Shoreditch (another/ Poor Law Institution) miners/ in Manchester. Ten years/ these two hands know endless work,/ duty..." uses alliteration and rhythm to convey the drudgery. In Belguim Edith in "Summer Storm" watches "...Geraniums dribble/ bloody petals —/ redspot the flag/ stone underfoot,/ each tiny death/ hisses ‘storm’..." just before her end in "Love to Eddy" (a much-loved cousin), "...Bone dry eyelids, rain-grey eyes/ spy death (not strange/ or fearful) familiar prowler/ of hospital corridors,/ stalker/ of the weak and sick. Now/ his teeth bright and sharp,/ snap close,/ so close..." knowing the Germans would shoot her for being a spy. As with all successful biographies, "Edith" conveys the spirit and atmosphere of the subject and provides poems to go back to.
(Flarestack, 41 Buckley’s Green Alvechurch, Birmingham B48 7NG, [email protected], £3, ISBN 1900397765, A5, 32pp, stapled)
"Edith" is a biography of Edith Carvell (1865 — 1915) as poetry, eg Edith’s fluent French is poeticised in "One of Miss Gibson’s Girls" as "...A language to lighten the tongue,/ sweeten the mouth, taste/ of new-ripe woman-hood..." and the only list in "The London", "...Ward work at Tredegar, typhoid/ at Maidstone, then St Pancras/ (6,000 people listed as paupers)/ penniless waifs at Shoreditch (another/ Poor Law Institution) miners/ in Manchester. Ten years/ these two hands know endless work,/ duty..." uses alliteration and rhythm to convey the drudgery. In Belguim Edith in "Summer Storm" watches "...Geraniums dribble/ bloody petals —/ redspot the flag/ stone underfoot,/ each tiny death/ hisses ‘storm’..." just before her end in "Love to Eddy" (a much-loved cousin), "...Bone dry eyelids, rain-grey eyes/ spy death (not strange/ or fearful) familiar prowler/ of hospital corridors,/ stalker/ of the weak and sick. Now/ his teeth bright and sharp,/ snap close,/ so close..." knowing the Germans would shoot her for being a spy. As with all successful biographies, "Edith" conveys the spirit and atmosphere of the subject and provides poems to go back to.
Page(s) 7-8
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