Depth Charge

by Chris Emery

Depth Charge provides a glimpse into Emery's more recent poems. All written since 2012's The Departure, the poems in this striking privately published pamphlet have become more conversational, more approachable - yet still maintain emotional resonance and imaginative leaps into other primal worlds

14 pages, Paperback

Published June 15, 2020

About the author

Chris Emery lives in Cromer with his wife and children. He is a director of Salt, an independent literary press. He has published two previous collections of poetry, a writer’s guide and edited editions of Emily Brontë, Keats and Rossetti. His work has been widely published in magazines and anthologised, most recently in Identity Parade: New British and Irish Poets. He is a contributor to The Cambridge Companion to Creative Writing, edited by David Morley and Philip Neilsen.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Chris Emery’s first collection since Departure and he has a variety of themes from the natural world to the contrast of modern life on the part of the country that he lives in. His poems on the natural world are about the bittern, seals and snowdrops and his poems on the region concern the way that the place has changed as the years past.

To stand and see beyond motionless blackthorn
The sweet chestnuts sweeping our silent blue,
The far gold hills, a single jay
A single buzzard blithely turning where
I will ask you to forget this white hour

Even though it is very short, there are only ten poems in here, Emery has a rich imagination. His form changes in each poem moving from the longer style to a shorter style add to the interest. That along with the imagery that he can conjure with the words adds to the charm of this collection.

[Michael Godwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Depth Charge is a compact but evocative collection that offers readers an intimate glimpse into Chris Emery's more recent poetic work.

Written over a number of years following The Departure, these poems appear to embrace a more conversational and accessible voice without sacrificing the emotional intensity and imaginative quality that make poetry memorable. The collection's brevity gives it an almost concentrated quality, allowing its images and ideas to make their impact without unnecessary distance between the poet and reader.

What makes Depth Charge particularly interesting is the balance between everyday language and imaginative movement into more primal or unexpected spaces. The conversational quality creates immediacy, while the emotional resonance beneath the surface gives the poems room to linger in the mind.

For readers who appreciate contemporary poetry that is concise, reflective, imaginative, and emotionally grounded, Depth Charge offers a focused introduction to Emery's later poetic voice.