Book reviews

Molly Naylor - Badminton

22/09/16

'Words', as Norwich based writer and poet Molly Naylor points out in the opening poem from her new anthology, are 'such a tiny part of how we speak'. And yet, carefully chosen, arranged, and committed to paper, they become capable of great things. Couplets and phrases paint pictures in the head that instantly remind of an image or emotion once shared. A clever metaphor has the potential to create a penny that, once dropped, produces a ripple that transforms illusion into revelation. No wonder the works of great poets are read, memorised and cerebrally locked away for future recall.

The poems in Badminton are certainly worth storing. At times manifesto-like but always entertaining, and conveniently compartmented into three sections, Beginnings, Middles and Ends, we are encouraged to read them in that order. As such, they produce a nebulous arc, a collection of memories, fears and resolutions. But having reached the final page you will certainly return to favourite passages, delighting in the observation and the confession, the real and the surreal.

Rupert Murdoch's Easter and Earlham Cemetery November present loneliness and loss in very different ways, and we empathise with the despair of Drive, the awkwardness of Armour, and the regret in Larking. But then a wry smile is be elicited by the vacuity of modern life highlighted in  Things Said To Me In Meetings With Television Executives, and the normality of Pylons replant our feet firmly on the ground.

This warm and honest collection is the perfect companion and remedy for any outbreak of 21st century self-doubt or angst, and a fond reassurance to those of us now safely on our journey.

Badminton by Molly Naylor is published by Burning Eye Books at £9.99.