Many, even most of the poems in Imtiaz Dharker’s Shadow Reader present some form of suffering, cruelty, oppression or abuse. However, they don’t cloud our impressions of these things by pushing the poet’s own emotions at us; presenting scenes and situations in a gently understanding way, with a polished musicality of sound, they let the beauty or cruelty of what they show speak for itself, in all its subtlety of nuance and overtone. In other ways, they’re highly varied in style and imaginative mode. Some offer what appear to be direct accounts of literal events, letting broader metaphorical or representative … Continue Reading

128 pp, £12.00, Bloodaxe Books Ltd, Eastburn, South Park, Hexham, Northumberland NE46 1BS

In Dharker’s last collection, Over the Moon, nearly all the poems were very specifically rooted in time and place. That concrete grounding gave them a great deal of their power. Luck Is the Hook works in a different way, making it both a departure from and a complement to the previous volume.

It’s essentially lyrical, concentrating on exploring emotions in themselves rather than their causes. One result is a smoother, more musical style. Another is the flowering of a mythical or fabulous mode. Over the Moon was dominated by … Continue Reading

Over the Moon by Imtiaz Dharker. Bloodaxe Books, Eastburn, South Park, Hexam, Northumberland NE46 1BS. 160 pp. £12 paperback.

Dharker was recently awarded the Queen’s gold medal for poetry so it seems almost redundant to say how much I recommend this generous and accessible book.

The first poem, “Like That Only”, is one I’ve heard Dharker read twice, to great applause. It epitomizes her easy multiculturalism, her warmth, and a lightness of touch that makes it seem almost indelicate to point out how moving and profound her poetry can be. The setting is the entrance to a Ganesh temple where entrants must … Continue Reading