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Sincerity
Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy returns with Sincerity , her last full collection as Poet Laureate, a magisterial achievement from the greatest living poet of our times. A frank, disarming and deeply moving exploration of loss and remembrance in their many forms, presented in a beautiful, foiled package.
96 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2019
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378 people want to read
About the author
Carol Ann Duffy
126 books740 followersDame Carol Ann Duffy, DBE, FRSL is a Scottish poet and playwright. She is Professor of Contemporary Poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University, and was appointed Britain's Poet Laureate in May 2009.
She is the first woman, the first Scot, and the first openly LGBT person to hold this position.
Her collections include Standing Female Nude (1985), winner of a Scottish Arts Council Award; Selling Manhattan (1987), which won a Somerset Maugham Award; Mean Time (1993), which won the Whitbread Poetry Award; and Rapture (2005), winner of the T. S. Eliot Prize.
Her poems address issues such as oppression, gender, and violence, in an accessible language that has made them popular in schools.
She is the first woman, the first Scot, and the first openly LGBT person to hold this position.
Her collections include Standing Female Nude (1985), winner of a Scottish Arts Council Award; Selling Manhattan (1987), which won a Somerset Maugham Award; Mean Time (1993), which won the Whitbread Poetry Award; and Rapture (2005), winner of the T. S. Eliot Prize.
Her poems address issues such as oppression, gender, and violence, in an accessible language that has made them popular in schools.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
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September 11, 2021It is odd to click a button that says 'I'm finished!' when you get to the end of a book of poetry. There should be a button that says 'I have read through all of the poems for the first time and although some of them yield their (surface) meaning at one or two reads, most worth their salt prove more resistant to the insultingly casual skim and demand that I work harder, think more flexibly, read more widely, and return at different points in my life when experience may unwrap a further phrase but not be greedy about it.'
I should write a strongly-worded letter to Mr Spaceman Bezos urging him to update this feature.
I should write a strongly-worded letter to Mr Spaceman Bezos urging him to update this feature.
November 24, 2018
Duffy’s last publication as Poet Laureate. Not very many of the poems stood out for me. Topics include departed family members (her dead parents, her daughter leaving for university), her boring hometown (“This is just where you start from”), myths and legends, other poets, gardening and the seasons. The one can’t-miss poem is “Swearing In,” a hilarious anti-Trump screed formed mostly of compound words, e.g. “Combover, thatch-fraud, rug-rogue, laquer-lout; / twitter-rat, tweet-twat” and so on! My other favorite was “The Monkey,” in which she’s tempted to give everything up to raise a pet monkey foisted on her in a piazza. My favorite single rhyme was “Feckit / Beckett” from her homage to Seamus Heaney, “Message in a Bottle.”
April 7, 2019
This collection demonstrates that Duffy is a current master of all that she writes, there are poems in here that are very personal and others that are contemporary and political. The common thread that links them though is that they are all written with passion. Duffy is not angry in these but furious, seething with the injustice and unfairness of the world and the vested interests that seek to keep it that way.
My hand on what I take from time and this world
And the stone's shadow there on the grass with mine
This bold and political book can be summed up in the poem, Swearing In. In this, she does not pull any punches at all as she welcomes the tangerine terror to his new job… I liked the fact that the poems varied in style and length, each written to suit the story she wanted to tell in those few words. Really enjoyable collection.
Three favourite poems
Stone Love
Wood
Once
My hand on what I take from time and this world
And the stone's shadow there on the grass with mine
This bold and political book can be summed up in the poem, Swearing In. In this, she does not pull any punches at all as she welcomes the tangerine terror to his new job… I liked the fact that the poems varied in style and length, each written to suit the story she wanted to tell in those few words. Really enjoyable collection.
Three favourite poems
Stone Love
Wood
Once
March 28, 2022
I read this entire poetry collection sat on my friend's window seat with the window wide open and sunlight coming through whilst I waited for my friend to wake up. I don't think it is Carol Ann Duffy at her best but I really enjoyed the experience of reading it (I love window seats). Also the cover is really nice and shiny so that's a plus.
September 9, 2024
A few really nice ones in here. I liked the Twelfth Night references, though she seems to hate Christmas. Some seemed very personal to her, with references that felt like an inside joke with herself, and I enjoyed that there was so much left in the unknown significance.
March 13, 2024
Thoughtful poetry that does not hold the punches, even Trump gets a poke. My first time reading her poetry, I will be back for more.
December 9, 2023
Some good poems. Some poems were a little abstract so would have maybe benefited from a preface or line on the subject of the poem to increase their accessibility. The political ones were my favourite.
November 7, 2018
This is Duffy's final collection as poet laureate, published just as the media begin to discuss who will be next. 'Sincerity' is a collection which is in turns serious and playful, tender and raging. It's easy to see why she is so dearly loved and lauded. She never panders to the establishment in her role of laureate (As evidenced by the grotesque in her poem on Trump's 'Swearing In').
There are very personal poems here as well as those based on the usual laureate subject matter of historically allusive and topical themes. The poems about her parents, when read alongside the poems about being a mother herself, are both shocking and moving.
In 'Britannia', the Queen is the background framing device, having reigned through two national tragedies. Grenfell is one of them, and Duffy chooses not to dwell on that still-raw topic alone. She also includes Aberfan, familiar to communities outside of the capital and to an older generation. That juxtaposition is enough to evoke how such a preventable loss has been needlessly repeated. This is Duffy at her most inclusive and insightful, where the tragedy of a rural white mining community sits right beside the tragedy of an urban multicultural community (both poor and both having been Othered by certain newspapers at various times - the shadow of Hillsborough can also be felt).
The poem which I found the most striking, however, is much quieter and not one of the stand-out topical poems. Entitled 'Burgling', it ends with someone, having stolen a sonnet, sneaking through a garden and snapping off a 'wet black bough' (yes, with Poundian petals on it). Who knew that such a canonical bough was so fragile? And what will regrow in its place? It's been said that as poet laureate she has transformed the landscape of poetry in the UK, and in this collection I see her doing just that, one branch at a time.
There are very personal poems here as well as those based on the usual laureate subject matter of historically allusive and topical themes. The poems about her parents, when read alongside the poems about being a mother herself, are both shocking and moving.
In 'Britannia', the Queen is the background framing device, having reigned through two national tragedies. Grenfell is one of them, and Duffy chooses not to dwell on that still-raw topic alone. She also includes Aberfan, familiar to communities outside of the capital and to an older generation. That juxtaposition is enough to evoke how such a preventable loss has been needlessly repeated. This is Duffy at her most inclusive and insightful, where the tragedy of a rural white mining community sits right beside the tragedy of an urban multicultural community (both poor and both having been Othered by certain newspapers at various times - the shadow of Hillsborough can also be felt).
The poem which I found the most striking, however, is much quieter and not one of the stand-out topical poems. Entitled 'Burgling', it ends with someone, having stolen a sonnet, sneaking through a garden and snapping off a 'wet black bough' (yes, with Poundian petals on it). Who knew that such a canonical bough was so fragile? And what will regrow in its place? It's been said that as poet laureate she has transformed the landscape of poetry in the UK, and in this collection I see her doing just that, one branch at a time.
March 10, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed this collection, particularly the Middle English and ME-inspired poems, and the gentle reflections on her parents. The fact that my copy is signed and touched by the poem always adds an extra dimension to the reading.
December 20, 2018
Poetry, perhaps even more so than prose, is deeply personal in both the writing and the reading. When it hits the mark its effect can be visceral. In a sizeable collection such as Sincerity there will likely be certain poems that do not resonate quite so deeply. Structure and use of language can still be appreciated even when the intended significance remains elusive or opaque.
The issues explored in this collection travel through personal memories to a wider worldview. There are allusions to Trump – ‘Gorilla’ is particularly amusing – and other powerful figures from taught history. In common is their narcissism and view of the insignificance of those who have served them, whether by choice or coercion.
From ‘The Ex-Ministers’:
“And when they are here, they are unseen;
Chauffeured in blacked-out cars to the bars
in the heavens – far, glittering shards –
To look down
on our lucrative democracy.
Though they have bought the same face,
so they will know each other.”
The lack of empathy in certain politician’s reactions to Grenfell is compared to Aberfan.
The homeless and cruelty of factory farms warrant separate mentions.
Other historic figures featured include kings and queens of old. ‘What Tennyson Didn’t Know’ posits that Queen Victoria could have used her grief at widowhood as a disguise, enabling her to live a life previously denied.
Literary notables also feature. ‘Charlotte‘ imagines the frustrations felt by the Brontë sister of that name.
“the prose seethes, will not let you be, be thus;
bog-burst of pain, fame, love, unluck. True; enough.
So your stiff doll steps in the dollshouse parsonage.
So your writer’s hand the hand of a god rending the roof.”
Amongst the more personal musings are reflections on the passing of time. In remembrances from childhood there are poems reflecting the boredom and mischief of holidays, and the dryness of schooldays:
From ‘Dark School’,
“Dark school. You learn now – the black paintings
In their charred frames; the old wars;
the voiceless speeches in the library,
the fixed equations – ab invito.
Above the glass roof of the chemistry lab,
insolent, truant stars squander their light.”
A parent laments their empty nest. A grown child experiences their parent’s death. Shade and influence are cast from beyond the grave.
‘Burgling‘ is a clever take on the rarity and value of silence for a writer – a reflection on a retreat taken despite the business of other commitments.
“I steal a silver sonnet and leave sharpish”
Although love and relationships are recurring themes these are never sugar coated. The faults of parents are remembered alongside their more positive attributes. Gardens and woodland spark cherished memories.
In ‘Physics‘, a marriage avoided in the past is regarded as a wise decision. Alternative scenarios are imagined that do not proceed to the much vaunted happy ever after of the institution.
“You walk towards me across the terrace,
all I want of love
in that world –
correct when you promised
all would be well. Well,
then again, I feign sleep at your footfall
and we are in Hell.”
Death is considered in several of the poems but not feared. The paths walked by the famous are visited with interest but also in the knowledge that it is the cemetery that now holds their names.
The collection closes beautifully with the titular poem, spare and elegiac.
“I look up
from the hill at Moniack
to see my breath
seek its rightful place
with the stars
and everyone else who breathes.”
This varied collection contains much of note – the humour and sagacity lifting the wide ranging musings; their broad scope remaining grounded and at times piercing. It is an enjoyable if not always easy read. Complex, colourful and humane, it is a worthy swansong for Duffy’s tenure as Poet Laureate.
The issues explored in this collection travel through personal memories to a wider worldview. There are allusions to Trump – ‘Gorilla’ is particularly amusing – and other powerful figures from taught history. In common is their narcissism and view of the insignificance of those who have served them, whether by choice or coercion.
From ‘The Ex-Ministers’:
“And when they are here, they are unseen;
Chauffeured in blacked-out cars to the bars
in the heavens – far, glittering shards –
To look down
on our lucrative democracy.
Though they have bought the same face,
so they will know each other.”
The lack of empathy in certain politician’s reactions to Grenfell is compared to Aberfan.
The homeless and cruelty of factory farms warrant separate mentions.
Other historic figures featured include kings and queens of old. ‘What Tennyson Didn’t Know’ posits that Queen Victoria could have used her grief at widowhood as a disguise, enabling her to live a life previously denied.
Literary notables also feature. ‘Charlotte‘ imagines the frustrations felt by the Brontë sister of that name.
“the prose seethes, will not let you be, be thus;
bog-burst of pain, fame, love, unluck. True; enough.
So your stiff doll steps in the dollshouse parsonage.
So your writer’s hand the hand of a god rending the roof.”
Amongst the more personal musings are reflections on the passing of time. In remembrances from childhood there are poems reflecting the boredom and mischief of holidays, and the dryness of schooldays:
From ‘Dark School’,
“Dark school. You learn now – the black paintings
In their charred frames; the old wars;
the voiceless speeches in the library,
the fixed equations – ab invito.
Above the glass roof of the chemistry lab,
insolent, truant stars squander their light.”
A parent laments their empty nest. A grown child experiences their parent’s death. Shade and influence are cast from beyond the grave.
‘Burgling‘ is a clever take on the rarity and value of silence for a writer – a reflection on a retreat taken despite the business of other commitments.
“I steal a silver sonnet and leave sharpish”
Although love and relationships are recurring themes these are never sugar coated. The faults of parents are remembered alongside their more positive attributes. Gardens and woodland spark cherished memories.
In ‘Physics‘, a marriage avoided in the past is regarded as a wise decision. Alternative scenarios are imagined that do not proceed to the much vaunted happy ever after of the institution.
“You walk towards me across the terrace,
all I want of love
in that world –
correct when you promised
all would be well. Well,
then again, I feign sleep at your footfall
and we are in Hell.”
Death is considered in several of the poems but not feared. The paths walked by the famous are visited with interest but also in the knowledge that it is the cemetery that now holds their names.
The collection closes beautifully with the titular poem, spare and elegiac.
“I look up
from the hill at Moniack
to see my breath
seek its rightful place
with the stars
and everyone else who breathes.”
This varied collection contains much of note – the humour and sagacity lifting the wide ranging musings; their broad scope remaining grounded and at times piercing. It is an enjoyable if not always easy read. Complex, colourful and humane, it is a worthy swansong for Duffy’s tenure as Poet Laureate.
December 28, 2018
Lots of good poems, some medium ones. Overall not one of her best poetry collections. I especially enjoyed all the Trump and Shakespeare references.
August 14, 2022
Particular favourites include Oval Map Sampler, Anonymous, What Tennyson Didn't Know, Scarce Seven Hours, The Creation of Adam and Eve, The Monkey, and Treasure Beach.
January 23, 2024
the way she writes about the themes is rlly beautiful but i dont think i fully understood the poems
feminism life death grief lgbtq politics religion nature
the one dissing trump is rlly funny
feminism life death grief lgbtq politics religion nature
the one dissing trump is rlly funny
December 20, 2018
A good collection. Poems were a little disjointed for me but had some wonderful passages. The Trump poems were really inspired.
June 1, 2021
I listened to the audiobook of Carol Ann reading her poems. Wowwwwwww this is a great collection.
Poems of love, death, grief, possibilities, childhood, ex’s, the stars, parenthood, gardening, Latin.
Surprisingly there’s also poems of on very different topics, such as Trump (which captures his vileness), on corrupt politics, and there’s many vegan poems. A very interesting mixture of poetic thoughts and reflections from Duffy.
Poems of love, death, grief, possibilities, childhood, ex’s, the stars, parenthood, gardening, Latin.
Surprisingly there’s also poems of on very different topics, such as Trump (which captures his vileness), on corrupt politics, and there’s many vegan poems. A very interesting mixture of poetic thoughts and reflections from Duffy.
December 12, 2018
Brilliant. Lucky enough to hear her reading some of these. Very inspiring poet. Been a remarkable Poet Laureate, the number of public captions and initiatives that involve groups of poets is something new for the laureate role.
Read
June 28, 2024will need to reread this 😊
October 19, 2025
some poems really made me think
February 1, 2020
Still waiting for my opinions on Carol Ann Duffy's poetry to form. I really liked some extracts and found others I found relatively forgettable. Trying to do some prep for A-level English
November 7, 2018
50% of this new collection is Duffy back on form after a dismal showing in terms of laureate poems, usually well-meaning and published in The Guardian; while another 25-30% is Duffy-by-numbers; the remainder is padding - work that slips past the eyes and through the mind, leaving little impression. Still, for the poems where there’s demonstrably a fire in Duffy’s belly - not least in fuck you’s to Donald Trump, and the architects of Brexit - it’s worth reading.
April 8, 2020
There are some real gems in this collection. Here are my favourites:
Blackbird
Skirtful of Stones
Richard
The Ex-Ministers
Britannia
Gorilla
Swearing In
Sleeping Place (What He Said)
The Mistletoe Bride
Wedding Ring
Wood
Gardening
Backstage
CXVI
The Creation of Adam and Eve
Physics
How Death Comes
Garden Before Rain
Like always I adore Carol Ann Duffy's lyrical writing, and she's thrown in a good few funny and spiteful poems about politics which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Blackbird
Skirtful of Stones
Richard
The Ex-Ministers
Britannia
Gorilla
Swearing In
Sleeping Place (What He Said)
The Mistletoe Bride
Wedding Ring
Wood
Gardening
Backstage
CXVI
The Creation of Adam and Eve
Physics
How Death Comes
Garden Before Rain
Like always I adore Carol Ann Duffy's lyrical writing, and she's thrown in a good few funny and spiteful poems about politics which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Read
June 8, 2019I liked the more personal poems in this collection best: reflections on the loss of her parents and on children leaving home. There are more political and public subjects too. Frank, forthright language. Accessible but not easy or feel-good.
July 15, 2021
ms CAD sure has a type when it comes to writing poetry and some of it i was j like mf ok lol and
but some were so pretty and made my heart warm :)
but some were so pretty and made my heart warm :)
March 1, 2021
Rating: 2.5
I had very high expectations for this book as Carol Ann Duffy has been a very highly regarded poetry within the community. Despite this i did not like this poetry. I certainly gave it a fair trial as I annotated every poem and wrote its meaning below so I think that I can fairly say that this is not a very good book.
For one, the structure of the book seemed strange to me as poems of a similar topic were grouped together. I think this must have been the publisher or editor’s choice to make the book seem more cohesive and put together, however because they were so similar it ended up coming off repetitive and uninteresting. A better idea would have been to space them out so that we can see these ideas be told through poems without having to read them back to back.
Another issue I had was that I just got bored because I just didn’t like the writing style. The tone wasn’t overly serious and philosophical, but I actually enjoy reading poems that are like that because I feel like I can just read them and smile. Similar topics used similar literary techniques which caused me to feel like I was reading the same poem over and over again.
My final issue is with the actual contents of this poem. A lot of them didn’t really have a message, making the poem feel meaningless and like a waste of time. It was also that a lot of them just told someone’s life story through a poem and (besides ‘What Tennyson Didn’t Know’) it wasn’t interesting for me to read, because even after finding all of the meaning of it I felt like I didn’t gain anything from this collection.
I think that this must be one of Duffy’s worse collections, as I refuse to believe that this type of poetry causes everyone to worship every word she writes. I’m not sure if I will read her other collections as I really did not like the style this was written in and I’m sure that that would be consistent throughout all of her books.
In conclusion, I would not buy this book and frankly I’m upset that I spent so much time reading it when there are much better poetry collections out there. Duffy’s style, structure and the actual contents of this book was disappointing. I hope that in the future I will have more positive poetry reviews, but for this I must be honest in the fact that I do not think this is a good book.
I had very high expectations for this book as Carol Ann Duffy has been a very highly regarded poetry within the community. Despite this i did not like this poetry. I certainly gave it a fair trial as I annotated every poem and wrote its meaning below so I think that I can fairly say that this is not a very good book.
For one, the structure of the book seemed strange to me as poems of a similar topic were grouped together. I think this must have been the publisher or editor’s choice to make the book seem more cohesive and put together, however because they were so similar it ended up coming off repetitive and uninteresting. A better idea would have been to space them out so that we can see these ideas be told through poems without having to read them back to back.
Another issue I had was that I just got bored because I just didn’t like the writing style. The tone wasn’t overly serious and philosophical, but I actually enjoy reading poems that are like that because I feel like I can just read them and smile. Similar topics used similar literary techniques which caused me to feel like I was reading the same poem over and over again.
My final issue is with the actual contents of this poem. A lot of them didn’t really have a message, making the poem feel meaningless and like a waste of time. It was also that a lot of them just told someone’s life story through a poem and (besides ‘What Tennyson Didn’t Know’) it wasn’t interesting for me to read, because even after finding all of the meaning of it I felt like I didn’t gain anything from this collection.
I think that this must be one of Duffy’s worse collections, as I refuse to believe that this type of poetry causes everyone to worship every word she writes. I’m not sure if I will read her other collections as I really did not like the style this was written in and I’m sure that that would be consistent throughout all of her books.
In conclusion, I would not buy this book and frankly I’m upset that I spent so much time reading it when there are much better poetry collections out there. Duffy’s style, structure and the actual contents of this book was disappointing. I hope that in the future I will have more positive poetry reviews, but for this I must be honest in the fact that I do not think this is a good book.
May 24, 2020
This collection, which I had eagerly anticipated, is a mixed bag. Duffy's "Poet Laureate-style" poems, which deal with socio-political issues on a national or international stage feel oddly wooden, and are rather forgettable. By contrast, when she turns to personal or literary (particularly fairy-tale or mythic) subjects, some of her familiar magic gleams through.
Thus, "Blackbird" is macabre and intriguing, "CXVI" is a delightful example of the assured ways in which Duffy likes to play with the structure of the traditional sonnet form, and "Burgling" is a clever little poem about inter-textuality, in which she "steals" from Ezra Pound's famous modernist poem, "In a Station of the Metro". Perhaps my favourite poem in this collection, however, is "Auden Comes Through at the Séance", in which Duffy revels in iconic lines from the English poetic canon, prefixing each with the taunting phrase "your mother"; it reads like precisely the sort of exercise in abstruse erudition that T.S. Eliot (my personal favourite poet) would delight in.
Now that her tenure as Poet Laureate is over, I hope that Duffy returns her attention far more to poems of this second variety, as it clearly is her most effective mode of writing. I will, as ever, await her next collection with eagerness.
Thus, "Blackbird" is macabre and intriguing, "CXVI" is a delightful example of the assured ways in which Duffy likes to play with the structure of the traditional sonnet form, and "Burgling" is a clever little poem about inter-textuality, in which she "steals" from Ezra Pound's famous modernist poem, "In a Station of the Metro". Perhaps my favourite poem in this collection, however, is "Auden Comes Through at the Séance", in which Duffy revels in iconic lines from the English poetic canon, prefixing each with the taunting phrase "your mother"; it reads like precisely the sort of exercise in abstruse erudition that T.S. Eliot (my personal favourite poet) would delight in.
Now that her tenure as Poet Laureate is over, I hope that Duffy returns her attention far more to poems of this second variety, as it clearly is her most effective mode of writing. I will, as ever, await her next collection with eagerness.
September 8, 2023
Sometimes just liberal fluff, but ultimately heartfelt writing. I bought this one on a bookshop that is also a small boat on the canal. I don’t have many thoughts about this book except a few poems I keep coming back to, especially “The Rain”. I have a hard time knowing what is cliche or not in poetry. Usually the weather is pretty trite to me. But I can’t deny that anything about stars, the moon, rain are usually winners. And it inspires me that there seems to be no end to our thoughts on these matters. I think sometimes maybe being a poet is about resigning to something so banal—but looking at it beautifully.
This still has nothing on some of the most impactful poems I’ve read though, mostly by my ex girlfriend, Dylan McElroy and grimy alt lit for edgy white girls. I’m starting to understand what I like in poetry more than ever, although this is very good, I like poems that have a real bite, may it be a sense of humour or something profoundly bittersweet. I’m glad I got round to Duffy. And I’m likely to move onto Sharon Olds now, who has written such a stirring love poem, with the verse
“The house seems
to circle around you
slowly. I circle around you, a wild
animal near a fire.”
I can’t get it out of my head.
Anyway happy Friday I’m going bowling probably
This still has nothing on some of the most impactful poems I’ve read though, mostly by my ex girlfriend, Dylan McElroy and grimy alt lit for edgy white girls. I’m starting to understand what I like in poetry more than ever, although this is very good, I like poems that have a real bite, may it be a sense of humour or something profoundly bittersweet. I’m glad I got round to Duffy. And I’m likely to move onto Sharon Olds now, who has written such a stirring love poem, with the verse
“The house seems
to circle around you
slowly. I circle around you, a wild
animal near a fire.”
I can’t get it out of my head.
Anyway happy Friday I’m going bowling probably
March 29, 2023
I have repeatedly found, such as with Margaret Atwood's "Dearly" or "The Door" and Mary Oliver's later poems, that I am still too young (and have been lucky) to appreciate poetry all about getting old, burying your loved ones, thinking about god and our (resting) place in this world. Carol Ann Duffy is approaching 70 and I am starting to get those vibes from here, though I could also say it doesn't feel like a very thematic, coherent collection to me, there's a wide variety of subjects, some poems I liked and some (most) that just passed me by leaving no lasting impression. Which is how it is with most poetry collections I guess, unless they are tightly wound around some narrative or subject matter or someone's "best of" collection. I feel like I enjoyed it less than her previous work but could be the time of day, could be that I am not the right age, could be I don't know enough about british politics or whatever. It must not be meant for me. It's fine. I never regret reading poetry unless it's spectacularily bad or spectacularily pessimistic and Carol Ann Duffy is neither.
April 14, 2021
Not my favourite of Duffy's collections. There are very moving poems about the loneliness of middle age, when one is exiled from both one's parents and one's children, others about what it is to write (burgling the house of Time for silvery words in one of my favourite poems, or escaping 'the dollhouse' for Charlotte Brontë.
But mostly, it is a collection about indignation. In the world we are living in, indignation is probably a very normal, or even healthy and honourable sentiment, but I am not sure it always makes for good poetry, mostly because indignation lacks subtlety. What saves most of the political poems collected here, however, is Duffy's relish in language and pleasure in directing her words like the instruments in an orchestra. Her humour too, as when she professes her project of rewriting Aesop's fables from the point of view of the animals and calling that 'The World's Woof'.
But mostly, it is a collection about indignation. In the world we are living in, indignation is probably a very normal, or even healthy and honourable sentiment, but I am not sure it always makes for good poetry, mostly because indignation lacks subtlety. What saves most of the political poems collected here, however, is Duffy's relish in language and pleasure in directing her words like the instruments in an orchestra. Her humour too, as when she professes her project of rewriting Aesop's fables from the point of view of the animals and calling that 'The World's Woof'.
August 31, 2022
Carol Ann Duffy is undoubtedly one of Britains foremost poets, formally poet laureate and at the height of her powers when she wrote this collection, her final one as laureate and uses her razor-sharp observations to explore the passage of time, the autumn of life’s memories, love and loss.
It is a superb collection charged with emotion, wit and satire building her opinion of deception and dishonesty in politics with comparisons between disasters such as Abervan and Grenfell, ‘The Ex-ministers’ and ‘Britannia’ giving scathing views of democracy and politicians, ‘Sincerity’ being her final words on its virtue.
There are so many of her poems in this collection that I enjoyed, a highly anticipated follow-up to ‘The Bees’ which is one of my favourite contemporary poetry collections.
Sincerely, this is a brilliant book of poetry to read, saved as my final book for #thesealeychallenge 2022.
It is a superb collection charged with emotion, wit and satire building her opinion of deception and dishonesty in politics with comparisons between disasters such as Abervan and Grenfell, ‘The Ex-ministers’ and ‘Britannia’ giving scathing views of democracy and politicians, ‘Sincerity’ being her final words on its virtue.
There are so many of her poems in this collection that I enjoyed, a highly anticipated follow-up to ‘The Bees’ which is one of my favourite contemporary poetry collections.
Sincerely, this is a brilliant book of poetry to read, saved as my final book for #thesealeychallenge 2022.
December 28, 2019
I'm not much of a poetry reader, but when I received this book as part of my Shakespeare and Co. subscription, I thought I would give it a try. Carol Ann Duffy is nothing if not versatile, and her poems range quite widely in topic and tone. I didn't care much for those that were primarily interested in literary history or homage (mostly because I don't have the literary chops to decipher the references), but I loved those that commented on contemporary politics (i.e. "Swearing In") and those that were more personal in nature, or at least seemed to be ("Frank" and "the Map" are a dynamic duo and the heart of the book, in my opinion). The eponymous (and last) poem of the volume is also stunning. I'm happy to say that after reading Sincerity, I'm planning to read more poetry in the years to come.
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