POEM OF THE WEEK O Chorizo

Bylouisepeterkin

Louise Peterkin is a very promising young poet whose first collection, The Night Jar ( Salt, £ 9.99), has just been published. HP Lovecraft, Alfred Hitchcock, Indiana Jones and Jaws ( the James Bond villain, not Steven Spielberg’s shark) all make appearances, reflecting Peterkin’s interest in film and the spooky side of life. There is also a great deal of humour. “O Chorizo” reflects another strand of The Night Jar: food. It’s impossible to read the poem below and not feel a little snackish.

Chop it this way: the horseshoe clean down the middle, half in the fridge for later.

Now peer into its universe, gemmed and celled with fat and paprika. Anatomy of a stout wee genie.

Is it so very bad for me? Yes! you chuckled. I was in the kitchen dicing the stuff up in a kitsch little apron when you wrapped your arms round me from behind sneaked a chunk into your mouth, kissed me.

Felt like I was in a 50s sitcom, one about a housewife and a vampire:

Once Bitten . . . The Bloodsucker Next- door . . .

Of course it was cancelled. I still buy it;

I like its butch taste. The garlic, the pearls, and the ochre. The way it stains everything, the way it stains my fingers.

You can reserve a copy of The Night Jar by Louise Peterkin at the Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close, Edinburgh EH8 8DT, which has now reopened and is operating a ‘ Click and Collect’ service. For poetry enquiries, e- mail reception@ spl. org. uk or visit www. scottishpoetrylibrary. org. uk