Reviews for Jackie Kay, Merle Collins, Grace Nichols

The average rating for Jackie Kay, Merle Collins, Grace Nichols based on 2 reviews is 2 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-06-09 00:00:00 Paul Field This is not a great culling. There are only a few new surprises to be had, and discoveries to be made. The poetry is too much of a sameness, and the themes are very limited. The masters you already know. You will not suffer much by not meeting the minor poets, with a few exceptions like Eilean Ni Chuilleanain. There is an annoying "dourness of life" competition going on in here that can only make one think of a missed Monty Python sketch opportunity. Masochism Schmasochism. Yes, documentation of the human misery index is a notable and legitimate use for poetry, and the same goes for fulmination and the seeking of political redress. But there's also transport. Very few of these poets are ever interested in transport, whether that be emotional transport (joy achieved through language) or intellectual transport (philosophical speculation). They stay right where they are. In dour Ireland. Not one of the fuckers living in their own Private Idaho. Well, they're mostly dead now. On to the new crop of Irish. Who's got happy feet in Ireland? Bring it. Please.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-08-24 00:00:00 Brad Phillips An important note that this collection regards the period when George V reigned (1910-1936), not the 18th century Georgian period. Otherwise, this was a nice selection of wartime and modernist poetry, though I wish more women poets were included, given how this was the period of the Suffragette movement and the roaring 20s.