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Always Fire
44 pages, Paperback
Published April 21, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 1, 2024
I have been dipping into Sarah Connor’s latest collection, Always Fire, since I received my copy in May, and I am now ready to do it justice in a review.
As ever, Sarah’s poetry glows with love of family, home and nature, with only a tinge of tangible sorrow at having to leave it behind at an unknown point in the near future.
Sarah and I share a love of corvids, especially magpies, and I was delighted that the collection opens with ‘The Start’ and the wonderful line “So let us be magpies”, a shimmering, glittering poem, full of “shiny words”, “tinsel, diamonds, shooting stars” and “glistening, glimmering wings” – wonderful words when said out loud.
It is hard to pick out favourites as so many poems stand out for many reasons. For example, in ‘Apple’, Sarah takes a simple fruit and brings its essence to us in “the white flesh, fine-grained, the sweet, sharp scent. The skin.” and then conjures it into a “secret star all apples hold inside them”. She does a similar magic trick in ‘Barmbrack’, using all the senses to not only bring back childhood but also remind us of coziness: “Isn’t that how marriage works?” when we “bring our memories, make something new, cherish the old”. As a mother, I was moved by ‘My daughter is getting ready to go out’ and, in ‘The Art of Cutting Back’, which also resonated with me, my favourite lines are:
“We write our poems, verses clear as gin,
and cool as ice, compact as cherry stones:
This is our craft; we cut, we prune, we thin.”
All of which is evident in this collection.
As ever, Sarah’s poetry glows with love of family, home and nature, with only a tinge of tangible sorrow at having to leave it behind at an unknown point in the near future.
Sarah and I share a love of corvids, especially magpies, and I was delighted that the collection opens with ‘The Start’ and the wonderful line “So let us be magpies”, a shimmering, glittering poem, full of “shiny words”, “tinsel, diamonds, shooting stars” and “glistening, glimmering wings” – wonderful words when said out loud.
It is hard to pick out favourites as so many poems stand out for many reasons. For example, in ‘Apple’, Sarah takes a simple fruit and brings its essence to us in “the white flesh, fine-grained, the sweet, sharp scent. The skin.” and then conjures it into a “secret star all apples hold inside them”. She does a similar magic trick in ‘Barmbrack’, using all the senses to not only bring back childhood but also remind us of coziness: “Isn’t that how marriage works?” when we “bring our memories, make something new, cherish the old”. As a mother, I was moved by ‘My daughter is getting ready to go out’ and, in ‘The Art of Cutting Back’, which also resonated with me, my favourite lines are:
“We write our poems, verses clear as gin,
and cool as ice, compact as cherry stones:
This is our craft; we cut, we prune, we thin.”
All of which is evident in this collection.
December 11, 2024
sensuous & surprising, wisdom-filled & courageous: unspooled me—gave me pause & reflection
This book has been by my side for a few months now, getting enough readings from me and with each read I emerge replete and content. The way the author expressed her soul engaged me to feel.
Until by the end of my final reading (just before this review and after my mention of it on Instagram) I had cradled the Author in a warm sisterly embrace just like the sea did in the poem
“I went to the sea”
I took it all with me/
the grief and the anger and the fear/
and she took it/
like she takes all our shit/
and she smoothed it/
the way she might smooth a stone or a piece of glass/
and she cradled me/
the way a mother might cradle a frightened child/
and her pulse/
was my pulse/
and I left with it all/
the grief and the anger and the fear/
a little smoother now/
a little easier to carry ~ page 21, Sarah Connor.
Verbose sentences that distract and take one on a loop are absent in this book; ample proof that verbosity is not needed in heartfelt poetry. Each short poem is sensuous and surprising, wisdom-filled and courageous: the whole collection unspooled me—gave me pause and reflection.
Always Fire by Sarah Connor is a memorable book that gets a resounding 5-star from me. Get it for yourself or for gift giving and see why I highly recommend it.
This book has been by my side for a few months now, getting enough readings from me and with each read I emerge replete and content. The way the author expressed her soul engaged me to feel.
Until by the end of my final reading (just before this review and after my mention of it on Instagram) I had cradled the Author in a warm sisterly embrace just like the sea did in the poem
“I went to the sea”
I took it all with me/
the grief and the anger and the fear/
and she took it/
like she takes all our shit/
and she smoothed it/
the way she might smooth a stone or a piece of glass/
and she cradled me/
the way a mother might cradle a frightened child/
and her pulse/
was my pulse/
and I left with it all/
the grief and the anger and the fear/
a little smoother now/
a little easier to carry ~ page 21, Sarah Connor.
Verbose sentences that distract and take one on a loop are absent in this book; ample proof that verbosity is not needed in heartfelt poetry. Each short poem is sensuous and surprising, wisdom-filled and courageous: the whole collection unspooled me—gave me pause and reflection.
Always Fire by Sarah Connor is a memorable book that gets a resounding 5-star from me. Get it for yourself or for gift giving and see why I highly recommend it.
March 9, 2025
It will remain with me for years to come.
It is hard to find a book of poetry where every poem simply shakes you and rattles your bones in such a way, you cannot stop thinking about the writer's talent. This is THAT book.
I am saddened that it doesn't include more superb writing, witty and visually packed verses, but I was filled to the brim as I read each poem. My cup truly did run over.
Sarah Connor's work is to be shared and held up as a beacon for there is so much light within these pages. I am awestruck and envious, and willing to learn from the words laid out before me.
This is an incredible work of art, and I will revisit it again when rain taps at my window and the sun refuses to shine.
It is hard to find a book of poetry where every poem simply shakes you and rattles your bones in such a way, you cannot stop thinking about the writer's talent. This is THAT book.
I am saddened that it doesn't include more superb writing, witty and visually packed verses, but I was filled to the brim as I read each poem. My cup truly did run over.
Sarah Connor's work is to be shared and held up as a beacon for there is so much light within these pages. I am awestruck and envious, and willing to learn from the words laid out before me.
This is an incredible work of art, and I will revisit it again when rain taps at my window and the sun refuses to shine.
June 4, 2024
Sarah Connor's poignant collection, Always Fire, is a gorgeous read accented by her imaginative style and gifted use of language. Although it was hard to pick just one favorite, I greatly enjoyed "August," as well as "Cliff-Dweller," and "Summer Solstice," which graces us with lines like, "shadows stretch / I am a goddess / flower-crowned." Lovely book!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews