The Girl Aquarium

by Jen Campbell

Jen Campbell’s first collection The Girl Aquarium explores the realm of rotten fairy tales, the possession of body and the definition of beauty. Weaving between whispered science and circus, she turns a cracked mirror on society and asks who gets to control the twisted tales hiding in the wings.

Genres: Poetry, LGBT, Fantasy, Queer, Fiction, Disability, Magical Realism

75 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 25, 2019

About the author

​Jen Campbell is a bestselling author and award-winning poet. Her short story collection The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night is published by Two Roads, her children's picture books, Franklin's Flying Bookshop, Franklin and Luna go to the Moon, and Franklin and Luna and the Book of Fairy Tales are published by Thames & Hudson. Her poetry collection The Girl Aquarium is published by Bloodaxe.

Jen is also the author of the Sunday Times bestselling Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops series, and The Bookshop Book. Her poetry pamphlet The Hungry Ghost Festival is published by The Rialto. She's a recipient of an Eric Gregory Award and won the Jane Martin Poetry Prize.

Jen worked as a bookseller for ten years and now has a Youtube channel, where she talks about all things books. She also runs a podcast called BOOKS WITH JEN, is Vlogger in Residence for the Poetry Book Society, offers writing workshops and editorial services, and runs a book club for TOAST.

She grew up in the north east of England and now lives in London. She is represented by Charlie Campbell at Kingsford Campbell.

Reviews

[Renee Godding · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Smash this circus to the ground.
Howl fiercely at the moon."

4.5/5 stars

The Girl Aquarium by Jen Campbell was one of my most anticipated releases of 2019, for multiple reasons. Not only did I love Jen’s previous works, especially her latest short-story collection The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night, I also love Jen as an author and as a member of the booktube community. This always makes me a little nervous to pick up a new release by such an author, but I’m happy to say that this did not disappoint.
The Girl Aquarium delivered exactly what I’ve come to expect from Jen Campbell: slightly unusual but stunning language, imagery as dark as it is whimsical, and fairytales and myths woven into topics that are clearly deeply personal to Jen herself (as many of them are to me).
It explores sexuality, love, bodily differences, disability and disfigurement, the uncertainty of change and what the future holds.

Jen is a master of stringing together words that seemingly don’t belong together, but form a completely unique and coherent picture in my head. Her work reminds me of that of Kirsty Logan, or even the poems of Sylvia Plath (a bigger compliment I cannot give, as Ariel is my favorite poetry collection of all time), in the sense that they have a dreamlike quality to them. An uneasy fever dream that is, that feels familiar, yet leaves you with a sense of estrangement and unease. To me, it feels like being lost, but also like home. I’m sorry if that makes zero sense to anyone but me, but it’s the best way I can describe the feeling these authors give me.
The only downside to this collection for me was a purely personal one. A portion of the poems are written in Georgie dialect. For me, no matter how comfortable and familiar I get, English will always remain my second language, and having to put effort into understanding a dialect always takes the flow out of my reading a little.
That being said, I do see how it adds personality to the writing and I can see how it could be a selling point for many other readers.

Am I biased for knowing a little more about the authors background surrounding the themes she addresses?
Maybe…

Did I enjoy it even more because I had that understanding?
Very possible indeed.

Is this thematically completely up my alley and definitely in my “soft spot”?
Yes. Yes it is.

Does any of this stop me from wholeheartedly recommending you read this?
Nope, absolutely not. Please give it a try if this sounds at all interesting to you.

Favorite poems:
- The Exorcism of the North Sea
- Memories of Your Sister in a Full Body Wetsuit
- The Girl Aquarium
- A Song of Herself
- Hello, Dark (almost made me cry)
- The angel of the North
- The Woman’s Private Looking-Glass

[Katie Lumsden · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really great read. I think my favourite poem was Angel of the North.

[Kirsty]

Having loved Jen's short story collection and picture books, I was excited to read her debut poetry collection – and it doesn't disappoint. Themes of bodily difference, feminism, and whose story ultimately gets to be told, all in lush and complex language.

[jette ᥫ᭡ [ia]]

→ no rating ⭑.ᐟ

ᯓ★ from: 09/15/2024
ᯓ★ to: 09/15/2024

I have a very mixed opinion on this, so I won't be giving it any rating. On one hand, I really liked these poems and was captivated by the author's storytelling, but on the other hand I also couldn't really grasp what most of them were about. 😭

But here are a few lines and poems that I marked and thought about more:

⭑.ᐟ Memories of Your Sister in a Full Body Wetsuit
[…]
Now, kids call your sister selkie, trying hard not to make stick.
Her left leg is weaker, only half of the bones
and unknowns cry
she must've done a bad thing, back then, back when.
Like you can't bottle karma and shower in it. Screw it.
[…]

⭑.ᐟ Moment
On the bus home, I think of all the constellations
hiding under my skin.

I think of the word vein
and I decide I don't like it.

I think of you and how - maybe
you flit and fit
within a different galaxy.

I write in my notebook in code
and think about gravity.

I think that maybe we're both lost
in the skins of human planets.

⭑.ᐟ I wish to tell you body parts
The heart of a young girl.
The heart of a pig.
The heart of the matter.
The heart as brains.
The heart as wood.
The heart within its glossy feathers.
The heart runs.
The heart boils. The heart burns.
The heart beats underground.

The stomach of a small boy.
The stomach of a house.
The stomach of a hiding place.
The stomach of a boat.
To stomach it.
The stomach that swallows itself.
The stomach snowballs.
The stomach shines. The stomach churns.
The stomach eats the night-time sky.

The lungs of a wise woman.
The lungs of a centipede.
The lungs of dancing figurines.
The lungs of half-born seas.
The lungs as peppered earth.
The lungs as bubbled rock.
The lungs pop.
The lungs melt. The lungs yell.
The lungs bloom underwater.

⭑.ᐟ The Magician's Daughter
[…]
- so we continue to consume the earth.

⭑.ᐟ Hello, Dark
[…]
When we grow up we're not supposed to have things like favourite
colours because, apparently, there are more important things in life.
[…]
Scientists still don't know what most of the universe is made of so,
perhaps, it’s ok if I sit here and think for a while.
[…]

⭑.ᐟ What the Bearded Lady Told Me
(after Katerina Brac)
[…]
That men are terrified.
That she loves how terrified they are.
[…]

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Let’s be lighthouses, instead.”

You know when you read something and you immediately feel the need to go back, again and again and again, because of the way the words sound when read out loud (“Swimmin,” “Netted,” “Small Infinities,” “Orange Brain. Flowered Brain.”), because of the vivid images they conjure (“The Girl Aquarium,” “Miss Eliza’s Skeleton Factory,” “A Song of Herself,” “The Art of Saving Other People,” “The Woman’s Private Looking-Glass”), or simply because every other line of “Hello, Dark” makes you both sad and happy at the sheer beauty of it all...

I love, love, love this collection!

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been following Jen Campbell on various social media channels for years. On those channels, she has been a massive advocate for poetry, regular showing the slim volumes that she gets from publishers and buys herself. She has also presented videos on where to start amongst many others

Even though she has been published before, this is her first full collection. It is full of poems that have personal elements and things that matter to her that she seeks to wrestle into a linguistic framework of a poem. All of them are full of whimsy and the poems swirl with light and dark elements depending on the subject.

I always wondered why a lass would stand on a hillside
With her arms spread wide like she’s reaching for the world

I have read her three bookshop based books which were are all brilliant, and thought I would give this a go as the library had a copy and I am trying to read more poetry. Overall I liked this, the mix of styles and formats worked well and I liked the use of poems written in the Geordie dialect. I didn’t get everyone though and had some that I liked much more than others. 3.5 stars

Three favourite Poems:
Movement
Swimmin
Birdlasses

[Anna (lion_reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was so much I liked about this book: the rhythm, the imagery, the variety of poems. The language is quite interesting (many were written in a dialect). But I felt that I personally could not quite reach the "meat" of the poems. Still, I'm curious if time and other reading will bring me closer to these.

[Elysia]

Oh my goodness I can't believe that this wasn't already on my tbr, I thought I'd added it. This is one of my most anticipated book releases and I am so excited to have it in my hands

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Campbell is a British poet. Many of her poems contain words from a British dialect I haven't encountered before. Campbell grew up by the sea, and suspect she is from the north of England. I may be basing this on the fact she is friends with the book vlogger Simon Savidge of Savidge Reads who is a northerner and huge promotor of writers from that area.

Campbell's poems contain a strong feminist voice. Nature particularly environments near the sea is often present. She writes about people, women, who are invisible. Her poems are meant to savor and read over and over.

[Yaiza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a lovely collection! I loved quite a few poems in this little book. I found the organisation of it a bit distracting, and couldn't immerse myself in all the poems, but overall would definitely recommend it!

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*
This is really difficult to rate. On the one hand, I probably didn't get what most poems were really about, but on the other hand I was utterly captivated. I immediately reread some of the poems and I really enjoyed the rhythm and language. I'm intrigued by the idea of understanding or seeing more and more in the poems with every reread, so this will not have been my last time reading this collection.

[Jess Witkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of the poems I found to be truly beautiful. Some were difficult to understand or picture as they were written in a dialect. Lots of variety in style and length of poems, which made it interesting. I have much respect for the author and the work they created. For me, not every poem spoke to me personally, but worth picking up for the ones that did.

[Medini · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt very awkward reading this because I didn't get most of the poems in this collection. However the few that I liked were:
The girl aquarium
The bear
Hello, Dark
Kitchen
The woman's private looking glass

[Bree · Rating 4 out of 5]

ooooooooooft

[Miles Edwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of my most anticipated releases of this year, so to say that I was excited to get it in my paws early is an understatement. I've been a lover of Campbell's works, particularly her poetry, since I first picked up her pamphlet The Hungry Ghost Festival a few years ago, and I've been eagerly awaiting her first collection.

Caitlin has ghosts on her tongue, seaweed in her bladder and trees in her groin. She is Mary: growing, growing in a Victorian fruit bowl. (from the poem #1).

Girlhood, sexuality, fairy tale, astronomy, nature, science, the freak show, spectatorship, disability/deformity, transformation--these are just a few ingredients that make The Girl Aquarium as rich and textured as it is. Campbell's imagination has no bounds, as it dives into the deepest crevices of ourselves and unearths something that feels secret and private, something that we can't seem to vocalise (I think this may be the reason she chose the Jeanette Winterson quote from Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit at the beginning of the book). Campbell does this with ease and honesty, twisting reality into a shape we eerily recognise.

With glass on our lips , we applaud her father's wisdom and ignore her pleading eyes as daylight seeps out from her gums. (from the poem The Magician's Daughter)

All of these poems feel very close to the poet's heart, the best example being possibly my favourite poem Hello, Dark. I admit--I cried reading it. I won't dissect a quote for you here as I want you to read it in its entirety. All I'll say is, it hurt and it was beautiful.

Why not 5 stars? Sometimes, for me, the poems were exceptional but I felt like I was missing something, as though a piece of information that would make imagery Campbell was using clearer wasn't there, and I felt like I wasn't understanding every poem. That's not a negative at all on the writer's part, but, as a reading experience, some of the poems I don't think I could grasp entirely yet, yet being the operative word because I intend to reread this collection over and over again.

This is an absolutely stunning piece. It feels effortless yet you know there's years of practice, craft, and a deep rooted love for poetry behind it, and I think Campbell has so much to say. I'm greedily hoping there's another collection soon...

Favourite Poems:
Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge
#1
Memories of Your Sister in a Full Body Wetsuit
Appendix
The Girl Aquarium
The Magician's Daughter
Hero
Miss Eliza's Skeleton Factory
The Doll Hospital
The Bear
Netted
A Song of Herself
Hello, Dark
Butterfly Dresses at the Westminster Aquarium (1880)
What the Bearded Lady Told Me
I Heard She Had a Strawberry Heart
Kitchen
The Woman's Private Looking-glass

[Justyna]

It is very difficult for me to give this book any rating. I struggled while reading it. Mostly because of linguistic difficulties - English is not my first language and many poems are written in dialect. There were some poems I could grasp the general meaning of, there were some where the words were just ink on paper and nothing else, mysterious to me like an unknown language.

I loved all of the images, stories Jen created within this poetry collection. Sometimes, some characters appear multiple times in different poems and you start to feel that the author has created her very own world and it's absolutely fascinating. My favourite moments were those when I actually knew what the poem was about because I watched Jen's channel and remembered some of the issues she mentioned there.

Overall, I need more time, I need to re-read it many times - because it's difficult for me to understand albeit beautiful.

[Kyra · Rating 5 out of 5]

The reader is within the aquarium of the book, slowly walking past tanks of colourful poems, watching each one flutter and dart around the page, coming up for air; what's hiding there? You could lose yourself staring into Campbell's works.

Full review here: https://kyrathomsen.com/2019/06/22/bo...

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Girl Aquarium is a beautiful collection of poetry that uses the aesthetic of twisted fairy tales and circuses within beautifully constructed poems (I love the forms she chooses to write within) to express darker emotions and pain. As a disabled woman, I really identified with a lot of the poems with a focus on the body. I would definitely recommend this one.

[Jennifer]

This really is original, eerie poetry. Not all of it hit my spot on a first reading, but those that did were enough, and made a real impression, in particular the title poem but also the use of a Geordie voice in eg Merlasses.

[Tamara]

I really hoped to love this, but I, unfortunately, didn't connect with any of the poems (and I mean 'connect' in the way that you're suddenly not reading poetry but experiencing it, and the writing is so beautiful that you can't help but be in awe).

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The way her words swirl around the page to create such an incredible world is stunning. A collection of poetry I’d read over and over.

[Merry · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up to 4.

Dark, twisted, eloquent and fascinating, but I didn't connect with the collection as a whole as much as I'd hoped I would.

[Lucy Miles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Super confusing but a few great poems ‘kitchen’ and ‘hello, dark’ were my faves

[Zuzana]

Nie som veľmi zbehlá v modernej poézii, takže mám pocit, že mnoho básní som celkom nepochopila... možno pomôže opätovné čítanie.

[Kai · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Lou · Rating 2 out of 5]

Giving it two stars because I'm sure it's lovely I just do not understand poetry at all.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, whimsical collection that packs a punch and was everything I had hoped for.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️ Loved this, especially:
The Bear and Hello Dark.
I also loved the sequences of poems that fitted together.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm still not as good at reading and interpreting poetry as I'd like to be, so I often become angry at myself whilst reading poetry collections, but that's a me problem.

I'm a big fan of Jen Campbell and this is another excellent book to add to her constantly growing collection. It's interesting to read this knowing her through her YouTube channel, because you can almost imagine that you see where some of the poems come from.

I think my favorite in this collection is "Hello, Dark." But I suspect that I'll want to read this again alongside ORANGES ARE NOT THE ONLY FRUIT sometime in the near future.

[VG · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a fan of Jen Campbell’s writing and reviews, and was excited to dive into her first full poetry collection ‘The Girl Aquarium’. As always, she cherry-picks language that fits comfortably yet thickly in the mouth - these are poems that sound best out loud, slowly savoured. I also loved the employment of regional dialect, something I wish we saw more of.

My favourites were ‘The Exorcism of the North Sea’, ‘Hero’, ‘The Angel of the North’ (probably my very favourite of the whole collection) and ‘Hello, Dark’.

I did not connect with several of the pieces - this is a purely personal opinion, but I do not like much repetition of individual words and phrases in poems. When used sparingly, it can have a powerful impact, but there were a number which employed this technique here, and for someone with as much talent and way with language as Jen Campbell, I couldn’t help thinking that it was a missed opportunity.

Another minor gripe (and this has nothing to do with the poetry itself) is that £10 is a lot for such a short collection - only 66 pages, shorter by at least 20 or so pages compared to many other collections I own - I am a big fan of making poetry accessible to all, and am in the fortunate position of being able to indulge my love of books, but were I on a tighter budget, I would hesitate before picking up such a slim volume at that price (I completely understand that poetry is priced higher than prose and the reasons behind it, but I was surprised at quite how tiny this offering was). Jen is very generous with her poetry online, and will often share, for free, whole pieces on her YouTube channel, and will hopefully continue to reach a wider audience this way.