POETRY

THE BOOK OF UPSIDE DOWN THINKING by Brian Patten

(Forget Me Not Books £8.99, 96 pp) Brian Patten was one of the Liverpool poets who enthralled us in 1967 with the Mersey Sound, and he continues to push boundaries.

His latest work seems deceptively simple — a book of short poems, sparkling with wit and wisdom. But the unexpected inspiration is 13th-century turkish joker and sage, nasrudin.

Some are versions of his playful stories; others are invented by Patten ‘in his spirit’. intriguing and thought- provoking, the poems turn conventional thinking on its head with brilliant economy: ‘it’s not true to say i did not reply/i sent no letters back that’s for sure/But i felt my silence said much more.’

THE POOL by Anthony Gardner

(Starhaven £8, 64 pp) it aLWaYS excites the poetry-lover to discover a new voice — and this first collection by a novelist and literary journalist is distinguished by a true lyrical gift.

Whether he mourns the death of a beloved dog or works through the terror of a cancer scare, Gardner demonstrates a technical control of mood that can nudge you to tears.

He takes the two great themes of love and death and intersperses them with exquisite evocations of nature. above all, his poems celebrating married love set the spirit soaring, reminding us that long love makes memory permanent, defying mortality.

THE FORWARD BOOK OF POETRY 2019 (Bookmark £9.99, 176 pp)

if i HaD read only the republic of Motherhood by Liz Berry, i’d still have been grateful for the annual forward collection.

in her accomplished standout poem, Berry encapsulates the terrifying changes that happen when a woman becomes a mother, donning a ‘uniform . . . smelling of birth and milk.’ Brilliant.

as ever, the forward collection is a cornucopia of sweet and sour delights: you won’t like everything, but what you love makes up for that. there are many poets new to me, as well as distinguished voices such as ruth Padel, Denise riley, Jackie Kay and John Kinsella.

Why read poetry at all? Because these firework-bursts of words can lighten the darkest skies.