Tentacles: Poetry and Illustrations

by Karen Little

An anthology of poems and illustrations by widely published author, Karen Little. For the first time this collection brings together a selection of her poetry and distinctive monochrome illustrations.

“Ten poems - ten illustrations - twenty precious jewels, flashing with danger and colour. The poems alone would be worth the price, as would the wild monochrome illustrations. Karen Little is the most exciting voice of this generation, and this collection is (or ought to be!) unmissable. Is Hairless Me Breathless the best poem published this year? Buy this volume, and then when her books are classics and are being studied at universities, you'll be able to show off your first edition, and your impeccable taste. I feel genuinely lucky to be among those 'in the know' about Karen's work now.” - Cathy Bryant is Editor of Best of Manchester Poets and winner of 22 writing awards.

27 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 20, 2017

About the author

I trained as a dancer at London Contemporary Dance School, and as a Fine Artist at Camberwell School of Art, London, performing and exhibiting internationally.
My poetry has been widely published in magazines and anthologies, and Tentacles contains ten of my illustrated poems. My first novella Filled with Ghosts was published in December 2015 and shortlisted for the novella Saboteur Award in 2016.
'Karen Little writes characters with a surface oddness. Whether they are floridly psychotic or merely displaying a level of everyday delusions and compulsions of creativity; they are all unusual and unique. As the book goes on it becomes easier to absorb the deeper psychological movements that the characters have as well as these qualities. However, the opening of the book is quite impenetrable. We hear from Diana, who, in her own words, builds ‘sentences from [her] own spit’. Yet, as when reading someone like Elizabeth Smart, battling through this series of barely linked, intense images is worth it. Once the rhythm that runs through the piece is detected, it becomes easier to grasp what previously appeared to be chaos. The rewards are images such as this one: ‘I catch rainwater in a pan, pour it into my fish tank, filling it with freedom and light’. (extract from Sabotage Review, Sarah Gonnet)
The sequel Ghost Train Leaving was released in June 2017, and the final book in the trilogy (the Spanish Spectres series) Ghosts Treading Water in October 2017.