Jinx

by Abigail Parry

A ruinous charm, a quickdraw curse, a knight's move. Abigail Parry's first collection is concerned with spells, and ersatz with semblance and sleight-of-hand. It takes its formal cues from moth-camouflage and stage magic, from the mirror-maze and the masquerade, and from high-stakes games of poker. Jinx asks about the equivocal nature of artifice, and the real mischief that underwrites the trick. The poems deal in forms of in seduction and persuasion, infatuation and obsession. They want to talk about what we submit to, and what we are compelled by. Shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection 2018.

Genres: Poetry

98 pages, Paperback

Published March 29, 2018

Reviews

[Janina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the cover and the title - it really fits all the poems inside. I really liked Emma, you're a gamer, The Wolf Man, Milagros, Love song for a Minotaur, The nine lives you might have lived were it not for the nine thin spells through your heart and The Quilt. I liked when Parry made association leaps and put together words back to back to come closer to what they wanted to describe. I also appreciated the notes section at the end telling us some inspirations and thoughts going into specific poems.

[Shivanee Ramlochan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jinx is an extraordinary work. It makes homes for language and imagination that I have very rarely beheld, and in some cases, that I've never before seen. As Abigail's subtleties of danger work on my brain, I'm drawn deeper into these poems, arrested by them, enthralled by their whimsy laced with arsenic, their subterranean sleight of hand. I will be back here, often, because so much more of me lives here than I could have foreseen. That, truly, is a gift, from an uncanny, ambidextrous creator - one who can use both her hands to cure, or maim.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the most incredible poetry collections I've ever read. Parry does things with words I've never seen. Her writing is wild and at times nonsensical but it has this amazing rhymn undercutting the whole thing; each poem has its own specific beat. I can only imagine how wonderful these poems would sound when read aloud.

I can't pretend I understood even half of the poems in this book, but I think poetry doesn't necessarily need to be understood, just appreciated. I was fascinated by the flow of the language and the way Parry plays with words.

If you like poetry that has a more emotional component, I don't think this would be for you. It's not really about feelings, but impressions. The writing is visual, strange and otherwordly. It fits perfectly with the work of the cover artist, Caitlin Hackett, whose work I'm a huge fan of - recognising her illustration on the cover was actually my main reason for picking up the book. Parry's writing shares that weird mystical quality that Hackett's illustrations have; they just go so perfectly together.

Overall I think this is a collection I'll definitely be returning to. I'd love to unpick some of these poems and try to decipher them, as well as studying the way this author writes in general. This was a fascinating book, and so well-constructed. Would highly recommend.

[connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars

Abigail Parry has a stunning control when it comes to language and rhyme, making every line flow. It feels like there's something significant about every part of every poem, not just thrown in there to get to the point better, and there's so much to deconstruct and analyse. Even if I didn't understand every poem, I really enjoyed this collection and am so glad Wordery were kind enough to send me a second copy after my first one was faulty [it repeated pages 65 to 96 twice, instead of pages 33 to 65]. I can't wait to go back and revisit this collection again and again, I can't wait to see if Parry comes out with any future poetry collections!

[Tôpher Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

A seductive mania that is intoxicating, a frenzied dance of mayhem and heart rending linguistics. These poems are often transformative. They come wearing disguises, strange costumes and can even physiologically alter themselves into darker or more warped beings; werewolves, black lagoon creatures, multi-character actors or ballroom strutting lizards. There is something deep and caring and passionate just kept out of reach, tantalisingly so. Handy hari-kari Abi Parry is a swishing flick-knife, language dicing, high-stakes trickster. Fabulous, magical and sinister.

[Serge ♆ Neptune · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting poems with an exquisite use of language. They can be a tad too dense sometimes. I would have preferred a few more short poems, but the music and images of these compositions throb with vivid colours.

Favourites: The Oracle, Goat, Girl to Snake, The Lesson From the Snake, Key, Into and The Pocket Diminishing Glass.