Praise and Poems

The first full collection from prize-winning Claire Booker is an event. This new volume presents us with a necklace of lyrical jewels sparkling with wit and sincerity all rolled up into the brilliant subtleties of language which we have come to expect from a poet of this calibre. ~ David Pollard.

Pedestrian in the Multiverse contains poem after poem of brilliant imagery: tightly written, musically captivating and dense in the best sense of the word (the immediacy of Booker’s language is deceptive as you re-read and unpack her stacked up meanings). Such complexity aligned to wit and precision often leaves you breathless. ~ Alan Price.

Herein is a rich tapestry of words and images woven by a poet who is sure of her craft. In short, Booker’s work keeps us on our toes. With every line, we never quite know what is coming round the corner and it is this element of surprise that gives this book its special appeal. ~ Neil Leadbetter.

Mappa Mundi of My Brother’s Heart

When they hold up the ghostly map
of your damaged heart,
it looks like a sea creature –
a bivalve with no protective shuck,
its rhythms too boisterous to leave untouched.

Tomorrow they’ll crack open
your breastbone with hi-tech poultry shears,
track a ragbag of rivers coded in Latin,
eroded, threatening to burst,
coax from its safe place your core –

a dissected frog twitching
on the cold marble of expertise –
prove you to be mechanical, an under-bonnet thing.
Their brilliant witchery
will make you vanish for five hours.

Don’t be afraid. In that dense forest
with its hidden trails, we will find you.
No scalpel can breach your true
dimensions. Beyond synthetic sutures
lie deeper bonds.