What do you think?
Rate this book
Ache
“ache is a breathtaking collection of healing and rebirth. Scarlett writes in away that makes me want to live more deeply” – Chloe Frayne.
Scarlett Ward is an incredible young West Midlands poet as comfortable on the page as in performance, with a real ear for language and an imagination to match. She was nominated Best Spoken Word Poet 2019 by Saboteur Awards, and came runner up in the WoLf Lit prize, Mother's milk prize & Verve Poetry prize. Her debut collection, created with help and advice from Liz Berry and others, doesn’t disappoint, as it concerns itself with the themes of mental ill-health, recovery and the deep and powerful ache of a love found, and turns them in to quite startling poetry -at times as light as petals, at others as heavy and violent as a hob nail boot. Read, gasp, enjoy.
Scarlett Ward is an incredible young West Midlands poet as comfortable on the page as in performance, with a real ear for language and an imagination to match. She was nominated Best Spoken Word Poet 2019 by Saboteur Awards, and came runner up in the WoLf Lit prize, Mother's milk prize & Verve Poetry prize. Her debut collection, created with help and advice from Liz Berry and others, doesn’t disappoint, as it concerns itself with the themes of mental ill-health, recovery and the deep and powerful ache of a love found, and turns them in to quite startling poetry -at times as light as petals, at others as heavy and violent as a hob nail boot. Read, gasp, enjoy.
- GenresPoetry
78 pages, Paperback
First published June 28, 2019
30 people want to read
About the author
Scarlett Ward
2 books9 followersScarlett is a Black Country poet working from Cannock, England. In 2019 she came runner up in Mother's Milk Poetry Prize, 3rd place in Wolverhampton Literature Prize, and runner up in the Verve Festival Community Poetry Competition. She was shortlisted for Best Spoken Word Poet by Saboteur Awards, and her work has featured in anthologies from Eye Flash Poetry, Hedgehog Press, and Fly On The Wall Poetry. Her micro-pamphlet "Rebirth" was published digitally with Irisi Press in 2016. She is a snail enthusiast and hopes to extend her family of giant land snails in due time.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 31, 2021
I will forever be in awe at how Scarlett Ward puts together words in such a stunning way. I have always admired her writing, and I have to pause for breath whenever I read her work. Her first poetry collection blew me away, and every poem made a mark on me. I’m excited to see where she’ll go because I believe her writing will take her places!
April 11, 2022
Just stunning. Raw emotion and imagery so detailed you can see every daisy petal and blade of grass, the most beautiful wordplay that draws you in then a line that makes you feel you've been hit by a bus. This book has made me fall back in love with poetry.
May 11, 2020
My dear friend, Scarlett Ward, recently published a poetry collection. I took the time to read it, being the good writer friend that I am, and have decided that my friend, with no hint of bias, is going to go on to do great things with her writing.
Split into four parts, the collection revolves around many themes, including anxiety, questioning beliefs, love and depression, all of which are beautifully crafted. The strength of the poems is their ability to build on every day things and bring a kind of human meaning to them. One great example of this was 'Sunflower', a poem that shows one's desire to keep something alive and, in turn, staying alive themselves. Scarlett makes the imagination of her readers flow, whether harsh and upfront or gentle and soothing.
Among my favourite poems was 'BPD' which came across to me as how I may feel during a meltdown or feeling outside of myself; another of my favourites was 'In this version of reality I never found you' which had a unique repetitive cycle that presented how a single human can make a positive difference in another's life and how it can be so different without them. These poems show Scarlett's strengths overall; not only her ability to pour herself into weird and wonderful ways, but to show what it means to be human, just as all good writers should from time to time.
On a side note, Scarlett also introduces three talented poets - Jess Davies, Sallyanne Rock and Rebecca Lockwood - and their beautiful poetry fits in with the collection's themes and they are all on par with Scarlett's talents.
Overall, while it may be easy for one to point out how I am praising my friend's work, it must be pointed out that I read it and did indeed love reading the poems to the very end. I can say that Scarlett manages to show poetry as a way of being beautiful, painful and full of humanity.
Split into four parts, the collection revolves around many themes, including anxiety, questioning beliefs, love and depression, all of which are beautifully crafted. The strength of the poems is their ability to build on every day things and bring a kind of human meaning to them. One great example of this was 'Sunflower', a poem that shows one's desire to keep something alive and, in turn, staying alive themselves. Scarlett makes the imagination of her readers flow, whether harsh and upfront or gentle and soothing.
Among my favourite poems was 'BPD' which came across to me as how I may feel during a meltdown or feeling outside of myself; another of my favourites was 'In this version of reality I never found you' which had a unique repetitive cycle that presented how a single human can make a positive difference in another's life and how it can be so different without them. These poems show Scarlett's strengths overall; not only her ability to pour herself into weird and wonderful ways, but to show what it means to be human, just as all good writers should from time to time.
On a side note, Scarlett also introduces three talented poets - Jess Davies, Sallyanne Rock and Rebecca Lockwood - and their beautiful poetry fits in with the collection's themes and they are all on par with Scarlett's talents.
Overall, while it may be easy for one to point out how I am praising my friend's work, it must be pointed out that I read it and did indeed love reading the poems to the very end. I can say that Scarlett manages to show poetry as a way of being beautiful, painful and full of humanity.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 13, 2020
This is a gorgeous collection full of poems that you can feel in your bones. Perfect lockdown reading.
July 8, 2020
Breakingly Beautiful. 💛
March 6, 2023
Raw, honest and beautiful: A breathtaking look at heartbreak and revival.
February 26, 2020
Absolutely beautiful and heartfelt collection of raw feeling but beautifully finished poetry x
July 14, 2019
I've had the pleasure of seeing Scarlett perform live a number of times, and like several other poets I have seen, the question that kept popping into my head was why doesnt this person have a book out. The answer, in this case, may be that waiting for the right moment and the right publisher can make the world of difference.
This is a wonderful collection; heartfelt, honest, raw at times and at others breathtakingly beautiful, and for me, it shows a poet who has reached a certain highwater mark in her abilities to craft thoughts and words and tranlate them onto the page. There is a sensitivity and maturity to the writing and a punch to the emotion behind it that highlights the craft of poetry - finding the right word or phrase that will sing out, and in making sure each line is fit and proper and right, you have a book that feels like it has a purpose, rather than being a loose collection of unconnected poetry.
Scarlett's voice shines through in these poems, anyone who has heard her perform, either live or recorded, will instantly recognise the unique pattern and rhythm that she has, and reading the poems I couldn't help but hear them in Scarlett's voice. This is a poet with presence and identity, and this book is a very clear affirmation of that identity.
I cannot wait to see what Scarlett does next, as this kind of talent can only improve with time, and she is surely going to be someone to watch in poetry circles.
I highly recommend this book, I feel it deserves to be recognised as a shining example of contemporary poetry.
This is a wonderful collection; heartfelt, honest, raw at times and at others breathtakingly beautiful, and for me, it shows a poet who has reached a certain highwater mark in her abilities to craft thoughts and words and tranlate them onto the page. There is a sensitivity and maturity to the writing and a punch to the emotion behind it that highlights the craft of poetry - finding the right word or phrase that will sing out, and in making sure each line is fit and proper and right, you have a book that feels like it has a purpose, rather than being a loose collection of unconnected poetry.
Scarlett's voice shines through in these poems, anyone who has heard her perform, either live or recorded, will instantly recognise the unique pattern and rhythm that she has, and reading the poems I couldn't help but hear them in Scarlett's voice. This is a poet with presence and identity, and this book is a very clear affirmation of that identity.
I cannot wait to see what Scarlett does next, as this kind of talent can only improve with time, and she is surely going to be someone to watch in poetry circles.
I highly recommend this book, I feel it deserves to be recognised as a shining example of contemporary poetry.
December 31, 2019
I've had the pleasure of following Scarlett's poetry and on social media for a number of years and was super excited for this collection. Scarlett has a raw, gritty and beautiful take on the world, and the collection itself is an emotional journey and transformation into hope.
I was going to write out which poems were my favourite, but it essentially is the entire collection. I hope to see Scarlett read in the future as I've seen some videos online and she is spectatular!
I would really recommend the collection; Scarlett has a poignant, often dark but always raw take on the world and many of the poems mean a lot to me. Thankyou for your beautiful words Scarlett!
I was going to write out which poems were my favourite, but it essentially is the entire collection. I hope to see Scarlett read in the future as I've seen some videos online and she is spectatular!
I would really recommend the collection; Scarlett has a poignant, often dark but always raw take on the world and many of the poems mean a lot to me. Thankyou for your beautiful words Scarlett!
September 1, 2019
Absolute emotional journey, full of rawness and powerfulness, a book to help and heal. ( Heart prangs) A beautifully written book, have found myself sometimes flicking back to front and picking a poem a day just by opening randomly, always find a new line a fall in love with. My favourite book and poet
Absolute credit to the Midlands.
Absolute credit to the Midlands.
January 3, 2020
This is the kind of poetry that is felt deeply. Scarlett writes with a unique voice that I personally related to, it is the perfect balance between modern poetry that can be understood but doesn't take away the mystery of a more traditional poetry form. I really enjoyed this collection and will be re-reading a good selection of them. She has a truly beautiful voice that should be heard by all.
July 4, 2019
Incredible read. Had the pleasure to see the author preform from Ache, she is so talented. Read in one sitting if you can to get the full experience and immerse yourself into the journey she explores. Deffinetly a poet to keep your eye on for the future!!!
December 30, 2019
A painfully beautiful collection of poems that will both lift your heart and wrench your gut. Scarlett has an effortless ability to make her unique experiences completely relatable. So glad I discovered her work and will read and re-read it for years to come.
December 31, 2019
Ache made me fall back in love with poetry. These poems are so relatable you feel each word as you read. I could not put this book down once I started, I read cover to cover, I read each poem at least twice, I got hit with all the emotions. 100% would recommend, absolutely beautiful writing.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews