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Gail Ashton Writing
New Collection: If this was a map of your life
WINNER OF THE GEOFF STEVENS MEMORIAL POETRY PRIZE 2023
If this was a map of your life
A compelling journey through loss and joy, this collections markers are those ‘bright beads of attentiveness’ in which we stand in the beauty and solace of gardens and the natural world, holding fast to those, past and present, who, above all else, lead us through this ‘violet//brimful of lemon-scented bright’ to show us that we are nothing if not love.
Pared-down lyric poems distil moments of joy in relationships and nature but also chart loss, estrangement, and the confusion these bring. Delicately crafted, there is quietude and a hard-won peace in these ‘bright beads of attentiveness’.”
~ Chris Kinsey
"Beautifully measured with a variety of elegant, even playful, forms they capture the hope - but also fragility – of life and love, while the real strength of this stunning collection is the unity of theme and perfectly paced poems that beguile the crafting process behind them.”
~ Will Kemp
“Here is almost synaesthetic devotion to gardens and a natural world rendered with musicality and delicacy, as are the characters who pass through it. Moving from prayer-like to spell-like poems, we shift from domestic into wilder spaces on a compelling journey of presence and extraordinary grace.”
~ Jane McKie
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