Cry Carmen Pellegrino and translated by Shaun Whiteside

Cry Carmen Pellegrino and translated by Shaun WhitesideIn Cry, Katy Mahon writes from the blurred edges between motherhood and creativity a place of contradictions, where chores and maternal routines deprive the poet of space to write, even as the joys of parenting provide constant inspiration for new art. Her answer is to embrace it all, at once: readers will find poems of frustration, exhaustion and the fear of losing oneself, threaded with love, awe and the quiet astonishment of watching a child grow.

troubled by family dynamics

The tales are excitingly chilling

As atrocities and instability continue to roil the Middle East

and translated here by the author – a process that itself raises questions about poetry and truth

they must endure war

facial expression

someone - someone must watch the waves ashore

in the moment

‘Imagine we trade bodies with sheep’ critiques human society as if humans now have the bodies of sheep

journeyings and encounters

becomes forgetful they put it down to the stress of his work

This anthology features contemporary writing that draws upon dialect in ways that explore the potential of the narrative and poetic voice