Feverfew

I've been lucky to have been offered to the opportunity to read several insightful poetry books over the past few months and Feverfew, I think, will be one of the most memorable because of Anna Saunders' vivid imagery. I loved how she can conjure up a scene with such clarity in just a half dozen words. Her referencing ancient mythical figures did have me scrambling to Google a couple of times. Sisyphus' and Prometheus' stories I knew well, but what about Leda? Swans and other birds also feature prominently and I was particularly taken with the poem Floundering in which Saunders compares the commercial potential of poetry writing with a young heron's fishing skills - both the poet and the heron ending up empty-mouthed.

At times I felt as though perhaps I should not actually be reading these words. The work is so personal that it was almost like rudely staring into a stranger's window, yet at the same time I could empathise and often identify with the poems as they portrayed a shared experience. Is this the ebb, or flow? is a perfect example of tiny moments, particular only to the poet and her companion, yet instantly recognisable to me from my own life.

I did have to work at reading Saunders' poetry which was a rewarding experience. These are poems to be slowly mulled over and savoured and, having now read the whole collection through once and dipped into it over two further evenings, I appreciate how my understanding has grown with re-reading. To stay with the bird analogy, I tend usually to read like a gannet, gulping down entire paragraphs barely digested, so to be made to peck at details like a finch opened up new perspectives.