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A review by foggy_rosamund
The Republic of Motherhood by Liz Berry
5.0
Called a "gathering" of poems, this little pamphlet is astonishingly strong. Berry's first collection, Black Country, is also very short for a debut, but there are no misplaced words, no baggage at all. This is true here also: an incisive sequence that cuts the reader to the core. I have read many poems about childbirth and motherhood, but Berry's perspective feels revelatory. Her use of language is completely captivating: it has the raw energy and earthiness I associate with her work, but this "gathering " feels fresher than ever. She plays with line-breaks, internal rhyme, and her imagery is brutal, original and beautiful. An example from the poem Placenta
[...] When I cradled it
above its grave it was crawling with jewels
trilobites and brachiopods blinking eyes
which saw only briny hot darkness and flood
upon flashing flood of creation.
These poems force us to face the realities of our bodies, and show us the beauty and wildness of birth, and existence itself. Though they hinge around birth and motherhood, their perspective is broad -- they ask us are we animals, do we have a soul, and how does language work, can words help us in times of extremis. These are huge topics that Berry explores in few words. The poems are also tender and full of affection. I especially loved The Visitation which touches on the tenderness of birth and the broadness of life that can be experienced in moments of pain. The poet sleeps for a moment in a hospital bed and remembers being a teenager when Eliose "knelt before me"
until I bloomed, my mouth spilling flowers, feverish
through the fodes and gardens, donkey-bites and alleys,
the dolls-house terraces where girls dreamt.
I knew the time had come to yield like a meadow
so I did, love, and you moved through me like the May breeze
and I was blessed.
I am glad this "gathering" is a small one, because it will make the book all the easier to carry around. Everyone should read these poems -- we are lucky to have Liz Berry's voice.
[...] When I cradled it
above its grave it was crawling with jewels
trilobites and brachiopods blinking eyes
which saw only briny hot darkness and flood
upon flashing flood of creation.
These poems force us to face the realities of our bodies, and show us the beauty and wildness of birth, and existence itself. Though they hinge around birth and motherhood, their perspective is broad -- they ask us are we animals, do we have a soul, and how does language work, can words help us in times of extremis. These are huge topics that Berry explores in few words. The poems are also tender and full of affection. I especially loved The Visitation which touches on the tenderness of birth and the broadness of life that can be experienced in moments of pain. The poet sleeps for a moment in a hospital bed and remembers being a teenager when Eliose "knelt before me"
until I bloomed, my mouth spilling flowers, feverish
through the fodes and gardens, donkey-bites and alleys,
the dolls-house terraces where girls dreamt.
I knew the time had come to yield like a meadow
so I did, love, and you moved through me like the May breeze
and I was blessed.
I am glad this "gathering" is a small one, because it will make the book all the easier to carry around. Everyone should read these poems -- we are lucky to have Liz Berry's voice.