{"id":471,"date":"2021-05-29T08:52:09","date_gmt":"2021-05-29T08:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vicpickup.com\/?p=471"},"modified":"2021-05-29T09:33:08","modified_gmt":"2021-05-29T09:33:08","slug":"owl-unbound-by-zoe-brooks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vicpickup.com\/?p=471","title":{"rendered":"owl unbound by zoe brooks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Owl Unbound<\/em> contains many poems which depict rural life and are reminiscent of the country ways of my own childhood. However, Brooks\u2019 images are so beautifully observed that her language makes the unfamiliar relatable and will resonate with readers from any background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The collection opens with \u2018Naunton Farm\u2019, a concise and deeply moving poem. Whilst signing ‘executor\u2019s deeds\u2019, the poet discovers her mother\u2019s words: \u201cHe died today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the shock of it<\/p>\n\n\n\n

makes my hand pause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My hand reaches down <\/p>\n\n\n\n

to the little cat<\/p>\n\n\n\n

with no ears<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[\u2026]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You had hands big enough<\/p>\n\n\n\n

to hold that cat<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in your palm,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

carrying her<\/p>\n\n\n\n

away from the burning barn<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Line by line overlaying layers of this shared history, the poet conveys love and character with such simplicity. Warmth radiates from Brooks\u2019 depiction of her father\u2019s large hands (and heart), as the rescuer of the injured kitten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are several poems in Owl Unbound<\/em> which focus upon tilling the earth:  In \u2018The Seedsavers\u2019, Brooks\u2019 imagery is astonishingly beautiful:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later, when they depart,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

she sees the birds rise<\/p>\n\n\n\n

like wheat from the sower\u2019s hand,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the rush of their wings overhead<\/p>\n\n\n\n

is the sound of grain pouring from a sack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These poems are rich with meaning brought about by an inherent understanding of the small things which marked each turn of season, each phase of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A treasure box in my memory was opened by \u2018The Apples\u2019:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The apples lie coffined in their boxes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[\u2026]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes she comes and turn them over,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

throwing away the bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The white foam of fungus [\u2026]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

infects even my clothes with its sticky scent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brooks goes on describe the last few remaining by Christmas \u2018like rows of shrunken heads; \/ their leathery and wrinkled skins [\u2026] peeled off in helter-skelter skeins\u2019. Wow.<\/em>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there\u2019s more \u2013 owl pellets become \u2018a galaxy of small bones and feathers \/ cocooned in fur\u2019, the poet describes fishing for \u2018sequinned trout\u2019 and a stag beetle \u2018in his Black Prince armour\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This collection ignites a spark of recognition which makes each work feel deeply personal, the unfamiliar seem recognisable. These poems enable the reader to reach through time to touch people, places and moments depicted with heart and tenderness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Owl Unbound contains many poems which depict rural life and are reminiscent of the country ways of my own childhood. However, Brooks\u2019 images are so beautifully observed that her language makes the unfamiliar relatable and will resonate with readers from any background. The collection opens with \u2018Naunton Farm\u2019, a concise and deeply moving poem. Whilst signing ‘executor\u2019s deeds\u2019, the poet discovers her mother\u2019s words: \u201cHe died today.\u201d And the shock of it makes my hand pause. My hand reaches down to the little cat with no ears [\u2026] You had hands big enough to hold that cat in your palm, carrying her away from the burning barn Line by line overlaying layers of this shared history, the poet conveys love and character with such simplicity. Warmth radiates from Brooks\u2019 depiction of her father\u2019s large hands (and heart), as the rescuer of the injured kitten. There are several poems in Owl Unbound which focus upon tilling the earth:  In \u2018The Seedsavers\u2019, Brooks\u2019 imagery is astonishingly beautiful: Later, when they depart, she sees the birds rise like wheat from the sower\u2019s hand, the rush of their wings overhead is the sound of grain pouring from a sack. These poems are rich with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":472,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[52,50,51,49],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vicpickup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/owl-unbound.jpg?fit=319%2C500&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vicpickup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vicpickup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vicpickup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vicpickup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vicpickup.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=471"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/vicpickup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":477,"href":"https:\/\/vicpickup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471\/revisions\/477"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vicpickup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vicpickup.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vicpickup.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vicpickup.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}