Lunar Moths by
Nina Antonia
The Black Light Engine Room Press
As in all things there are fashions in
poetry, yet the thread of gold that runs through excellence always defeats
these affectations. So for lovers of
poetry the arrival of a new publication is always exciting, though I must admit
to viewing this volume with a certain curiosity. I am very well acquainted with
Nina Antonia's previous books, ranging from a novel, The Greenwood Faun, to
a number of biographical works, including the defining Incurable, the life
of the ill-fated 1890's poet Lionel Johnson; therefore one can visualise my
curiosity with regard to a book of poetry.
This
was quickly answered, as one delights in wide-ranging themes, employing
tumbling imagery which in my case rekindled the guttering flame of past
memories like a long lost and lamented tune. In Bric-a Brac, an old man
has died leaving his shop and contents to his grieving widow. And here the poet
subtly intertwines the chaotic, but now silent, jumble of the shop to the conflicting
emotions of his distraught wife.
Chatterton,
Euston, 2018, is an excellent example
of her impressionistic eye; here, as in all of the poems, she exhibits a subtle warmth coupled to a vivid
imagination. Images are created that flicker in the mind long after the book is
put down. It is not for me to analyse in depth each and every one of the
thirteen poems within, that is left to the reader. Yet in one line the author
is incorrect when she writes, The poet's task is often thankless. Wrong!
The appreciation by readers is essentially private, the pleasure she instills is
also personal, only the creators of the poems themselves are left unaware of
this.
This
is a truly delightful collection and one hopes that we may expect many more
from Nina Antonia's pen.
(Godfrey Brangham)
