Patricia M Osborne

Please join me in congratulating poet, Rachel Deering, on the launch of In the Shadow of Gods, published by Black Bough Poetry.

‘Deering’s powerful chlorophyll- and clay-dipped collection shows us how to read the leaves and the ripples, how to speak with feathered and tree-abiding lives, to see, almost as if with the lightning rod of divine inspiration, that ‘it is always about love’. This is a book to surrender to. In the hands of a master word-conjurer, you will be carried by its ‘watermagic’. This is poetry as theophysics, rendered with the precision of a scientist and the furor of a visionary. A tremendous and vital collection from a breathtakingly skilled and assured voice.’ Chris Laoutaris, Associate Professor at The Shakespeare Institute and author of Bleed and See (Broken Sleep Books) and Shakespeare’s Book (William Collins).

‘Reflecting our journeys and departures, Deering’s imagery and language sings of the growth replicated within nature and humanity offering a reclamation of our landscapes through deft metaphor and an inventive perspective conveying the dangers and delights of daring to live within life’s contradictions. Each piece creates a sensory realm exploring our bodies and desires, our weaknesses and will for agency; the power of the feminine threads itself through each section with Deering’s inimitable ecological voice. And, while ‘everything has a conclusion,’ from these ends come beginnings – there is a true sense of hope vibrantly alive in these necessary poems.’ Louise Machen, award-nominated writer.

BUY

This is a Forward Prize nominated collection by Black Bough Poetry and the fourth individual collection they have published.