A pamphlet of poems from Antiphon, The High Window, The Lake, etc. In the preface, the poet writes that the pamphlet "combines elements of flash fiction, poetry and radio play" with "two strands of inner speech, linked only by their presence in the same place. The narrator is a young shop assistant ... Her voice is a sequence of metric prose poems, each precisely 100 words long. These always mention a second, 'customer', voice, which takes the form best suited to that particular character."
Each page starts with some prose (I wouldn't call them prose poems, and I think they're only "metric" in the sense that they're 100 words long). Each time we learn a little more about the protagonist (pregnant before 18, chucked out of school), and about the character (or dog) who features in the poem. Several of the characters are her ex-teachers, or post-depression, or dying, or caring for the ill. It took me a while to get used to the pacing - some of the poetry sections are prose with line-breaks, more prosey than the prose. By the end we have a panoramic view of life as she sees it, and we glimpse at her hopes.
Other reviews
- Lisa Williams (Each drabble introduces another customer and there’s a natural flow as each new voice enters, so much so you can almost hear the tinkle of the bell above the door.)
- Rennie Halstead (By the end of the pamphlet, we have developed a clear idea of Nona’s personality and desires. Left pregnant as a school girl, the shop is the only work she can find. However, she has ambitions to become a nurse and, by the end of the pamphlet, sets off to encourage her friend Emma to enrol with her, hoping Gran will mind baby Freddie in the school holidays.)
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