Bear

by Chrissy Williams

The lively ‘bears’ in this playful and poignant collection will surprise you on every page. They are poems of love and death, life, loss and grief. The ephemera of popular culture is used to confront mortality, and you’ll be transported from the British Library to the Alps to the International Space Station, along with a vibrant cast of Vikings, videogames and Angela Lansbury. From the ludicrous to the domestic, these profound, wry and very real bears affirm that hope may be found even in our darkest moments.

Chrissy Williams has published several pamphlets, one of which was shortlisted for a Michael Marks Award. Bear is her first book-length collection

‘Chrissy Williams is my new favourite poet. These poems are as close and intimate as a bear breathing down your neck, about to take you in its arms or tear you limb from limb; as strange and unexpected as a bear playing the piano and as beautiful and inexplicable as love.’ – Luke Kennard

'In spite of its almost absurdist character and apparent playfulness, Chrissy Williams's Bear is a collection of poems that deal with all that is most serious in human life. From start to finish, these wonderfully various, entertaining and original poems speak the language of compassion, intimacy and faith.' – Annie Freud

‘A pleasure in pluralism.’ – Richard O'Brien Poetry London

‘Chrissy Williams is ... not only making it new: she is making it vital.’ – Marcus Slease, Shearsman

‘Fasten your seatbelts. Something powerful is taking off here.’ – Christie Williamson Sphinx

Genres: Poetry

64 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[Seth Arnopole · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a treat! A volume of poetry that touches on video games, comic books (the cover even looks like a graphic novel), and even the movie Groundhog Day. I stumbled upon this by accident and found that Chrissy Williams is speaking my language.

[Sonny · Rating 5 out of 5]

While seeming playful, these poems concern all areas of the human experience. This little collection is a keeper.

[scarlettraces · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read December 2017
Poems of love, death, life, loss and grief. A beautiful collection both inside and out.
I loved the playfulness of these poems and the variation in the ways they were written.
For me what makes a poetry collection good is when it makes me feel something, when there is some kind of connection between the poems and me as a reader. And with ‘Bear’ that definitely was the case.

Reading this collection got me inspired to draw/doodle and because of that I added some little illustrations to some of the poems. I’m definitely not a professional illustrator, I just doodle, but I like that it gave me a way of interacting with the poems.

Also, shoutout to Tom Humberstone who did the cover illustration. (Seriously, love that cover!)