Glasfryn Project

Caroline Goodwin’s Matanuska is good for what ails you, from snow-blindness to work-worn hands to the heaviness of grief. Each poem in this remarkable collection begins with the name of a plant, as well as the Covid-related death toll on the day the poem was composed. With the pandemic as a subtle backdrop, these poems search the natural world for nourishment, sustenance, protection, and healing.
One can’t help but feel hope when reading these poems. There is an underlying reverence for Mother Nature, and a trust that Life cycles toward the good. Caroline proves herself to be part magician, part naturalist, part lover, part witch—and entirely human — along the banks of the Matanuska River. Each poem “once more, with feeling: improves digestion and general well-being.”
Sarah Kobrinsky

This is a delicious, disturbing, and deliciously disturbing poetic sequence, that takes its name from the Matanuska River in south-central Alaska where Caroline Goodwin spent her childhood. Matanuska eschews sentimentality even as it champions sentiment, its melée of different threads encouraging the reader to work for sense (and senses) while relishing its sonic and paratactical dance, a dance which is often mesmerising. It is precisely in not pulling its punches and in refusing to wallow in doom or bien-pensant piety either – by being monitory without being judgemental – that Caroline Goodwin manages to create the space for poetic invention. As for me, it’s simply one of the best collections I’ve read this year, and one I know I’ll be returning to.
John Goodby

Published February 2022. Uk £10.00

Aquifer Books

ISBN: 978-1-8383587-4-7

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If you prefer to pay by cheque (sterling) please make the cheque payable to Aquifer Books and send to Glasfryn, Llangattock, Powys, NP8 1PH

 

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If you prefer to pay by cheque (sterling) please make the cheque payable to Aquifer Books and send to Glasfryn, Llangattock, Powys, NP8 1PH
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View all: Aquifer | Posted on 12 Feb 2022 |