Calamities!

by Jane Arthur

In her second, spine-cracking collection, Jane Arthur wants ‘to get morbid’. Moving with ease between the cerebral and the ethereal she measures her anxieties against a cosmic canvas – taking in everything from meteorites and distant planets to pomanders and cat’s ears. Whether contemplating time, regret, or the end of the world, these poems don’t flinch. But in writing against hope, Arthur also writes against hopelessness, and finds, at the heart of it all, a bear, sleeping soundly – or perhaps dead.

72 pages, Paperback

Published May 11, 2023

About the author

Jane Arthur was the recipient of the Sarah Broom Poetry Prize in 2018, judged by Eileen Myles. She has worked in the book industry for over fifteen years as a bookseller and editor. She has a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from the IIML at Victoria University of Wellington. Born in New Plymouth, she lives in Wellington with her family and dogs.

Reviews

[Courtney Johnston]

I read this in the bath last night, in one sitting (bathing?). It’s hilarious but still spiked enough to be serious. I loved “Meteorite”, and “Complaint”:

Haven’t all of us ruined something?

Isn’t everything terrible?

Isn’t hope fleeting and utterly futile,
like trying to take
a photograph of the moon
with a cheap phone?

There was potential but you missed it.
There was connection but you blinked.
There was a lesson
but you spent it carving a dick into the desk.

[Simon Sweetman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, sharp, and at times nicely odd. I really loved this collection.

[ocean jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting collection about scrutinizing the bizarre and minuscule stencil of your existence against the unending vastness of the universe and then—against all odds—choosing simplicity.