The Tempest Prognosticator

by Isobel Dixon

In The Tempest Prognosticator leeches warn of storms, whales blunder up the Thames, toktokkie beetles tap out courtship rituals, and women fall for deft cocktail makers and melancholy apes. With her keen eye and a gift for capturing the natural world, Isobel Dixon entices the reader on a journey where the familiar is not always as it seems, where the sideways glance, the double take, yields rich rewards. From Crusoe to Psycho, Pink Floyd to Fred Astaire, the human zoo's at play here too, in a collection filled with 'miracle and wonder', wit and bite.

Genres: Poetry

72 pages, Paperback

First published July 15, 2011

Reviews

[Gillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sensitive and strong, as one reviewer put it "lusciously feral". Wonderful writing, may make you want to go back to being an Eng lit student and write poetry all day long.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

favourite poem was ‘Mountain war time’

[George Witte]

A first rate collection of beautiful, smart, precise, observant, and knowing poems--some focused on insects and animals (an amorous beetle seeking a mate is a standout), some on human love and its vagaries (several provocative poems), some on South Africa, and some on curiosities of different kinds, including the title poem. The voice here is both cool and passionate, there is a strong sense of line and rhyme's opportunities, and a range of experience that is refreshing to encounter. Highly recommended.