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annaonthepage's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Beautiful, lyrical poetry about moving into the experience of motherhood.
Content Warnings
Evocative, poetic descriptions of conception, birth and new motherhood.
the_alchemy's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
victoriayates's review
5.0
painfully and searingly beautiful evocations of new motherhood, the unexpectedness and injustices of its hardships, tender moments of all-encompassing love, the loneliness of postnatal depression...it's all here, sublime!
kavyajanani's review
5.0
I finished this incredible poetry collection sometime between May and June; I can't remember the date exactly. I was so moved by Liz Berry's poems that I kept going back to them, reading them again and again, and digesting each poem as if it was my staple food.
Especially the titular poem is something every new mom should read. It depicts postpartum just as it is - an unknown forest where women are blindfolded and left to grapple with a new reality. The other poems that I loved are - Connemara, Transition, The Visitation, Sky Birth, The Yellow Curtains, So Tenderly It Wounds Them, Placenta, and Spiritualist Church.
Highly recommended for all motherhood-poetry lovers!
Especially the titular poem is something every new mom should read. It depicts postpartum just as it is - an unknown forest where women are blindfolded and left to grapple with a new reality. The other poems that I loved are - Connemara, Transition, The Visitation, Sky Birth, The Yellow Curtains, So Tenderly It Wounds Them, Placenta, and Spiritualist Church.
Highly recommended for all motherhood-poetry lovers!
rachelemm's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
foggy_rosamund's review against another edition
5.0
Called a "gathering" of poems, this little pamphlet is astonishingly strong. Berry's first collection, Black Country, is also very short for a debut, but there are no misplaced words, no baggage at all. This is true here also: an incisive sequence that cuts the reader to the core. I have read many poems about childbirth and motherhood, but Berry's perspective feels revelatory. Her use of language is completely captivating: it has the raw energy and earthiness I associate with her work, but this "gathering " feels fresher than ever. She plays with line-breaks, internal rhyme, and her imagery is brutal, original and beautiful. An example from the poem Placenta
[...] When I cradled it
above its grave it was crawling with jewels
trilobites and brachiopods blinking eyes
which saw only briny hot darkness and flood
upon flashing flood of creation.
These poems force us to face the realities of our bodies, and show us the beauty and wildness of birth, and existence itself. Though they hinge around birth and motherhood, their perspective is broad -- they ask us are we animals, do we have a soul, and how does language work, can words help us in times of extremis. These are huge topics that Berry explores in few words. The poems are also tender and full of affection. I especially loved The Visitation which touches on the tenderness of birth and the broadness of life that can be experienced in moments of pain. The poet sleeps for a moment in a hospital bed and remembers being a teenager when Eliose "knelt before me"
until I bloomed, my mouth spilling flowers, feverish
through the fodes and gardens, donkey-bites and alleys,
the dolls-house terraces where girls dreamt.
I knew the time had come to yield like a meadow
so I did, love, and you moved through me like the May breeze
and I was blessed.
I am glad this "gathering" is a small one, because it will make the book all the easier to carry around. Everyone should read these poems -- we are lucky to have Liz Berry's voice.
[...] When I cradled it
above its grave it was crawling with jewels
trilobites and brachiopods blinking eyes
which saw only briny hot darkness and flood
upon flashing flood of creation.
These poems force us to face the realities of our bodies, and show us the beauty and wildness of birth, and existence itself. Though they hinge around birth and motherhood, their perspective is broad -- they ask us are we animals, do we have a soul, and how does language work, can words help us in times of extremis. These are huge topics that Berry explores in few words. The poems are also tender and full of affection. I especially loved The Visitation which touches on the tenderness of birth and the broadness of life that can be experienced in moments of pain. The poet sleeps for a moment in a hospital bed and remembers being a teenager when Eliose "knelt before me"
until I bloomed, my mouth spilling flowers, feverish
through the fodes and gardens, donkey-bites and alleys,
the dolls-house terraces where girls dreamt.
I knew the time had come to yield like a meadow
so I did, love, and you moved through me like the May breeze
and I was blessed.
I am glad this "gathering" is a small one, because it will make the book all the easier to carry around. Everyone should read these poems -- we are lucky to have Liz Berry's voice.