I was told I’d need tissues. Indeed, Victoria Bennett’s poetry about her mother’s passing evoked much emotion from me – but not always in the way I’d expected. In To Start The Year From Its Quiet Centre, the poet spares us the dramatics, instead staying true to the title and portraying death with calm observation of the details, seemingly small in many cases, but deeply meaningful. So attentively put together, this pamphlet is filled with a warmth which I found ultimately uplifting. ‘The Suede Shoes’ opens the collection. The first line of which reads ‘No good news from now’. But the poem continues: Why bother planting that seed? Why turn the beds for a summer that will never come? Why bother buying the pretty suede shoes? We choose the shoes because we can still find joy in a step. We plant the seed because we still love the way it insists itself into life. In its final line, the poem confirms: ‘and there is still good news.’ Of course, there is anger within these pages. Where there is love and loss, this is inescapable. But there is also a furious energy which liberates, at once brutal and bright. At night, … Continue reading A beautiful portrayal of love and loss