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Yield
Three definitions of the word Yield give meaning to the odyssey undergone in Claire Dyer's third collection: a journey which sees a son become a daughter, and a poet for both of them.
Charting these transitions, the poems take us through territories known and familiar - landscapes of childhood, family and home - into further regions where inner lives alter; outer ones are reimagined.
Whether evoking clinic visits, throwing away old boyhood clothes, grieving over what's lost, these honest and unashamed poems build to celebrate that place at the heart of motherhood where gender is no differentiator and love the gain.
Charting these transitions, the poems take us through territories known and familiar - landscapes of childhood, family and home - into further regions where inner lives alter; outer ones are reimagined.
Whether evoking clinic visits, throwing away old boyhood clothes, grieving over what's lost, these honest and unashamed poems build to celebrate that place at the heart of motherhood where gender is no differentiator and love the gain.
- GenresPoetry
73 pages, Paperback
Published February 21, 2021
3 people want to read
About the author
Claire Dyer
18 books32 followersAuthor and poet. My literary thriller 'The Significant Others of Odie May' is out July 2021.
Please be aware that messages on Goodreads are not checked regularly but I'm on Twitter as @ClaireDyer1 so please get in touch with me there and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you.
Please be aware that messages on Goodreads are not checked regularly but I'm on Twitter as @ClaireDyer1 so please get in touch with me there and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 3, 2021
Saturday, 27 February 2021
📖 Blog Tour ~ Yield by Claire Dyer
📖 Thrilled to be part of this Blog Tour 📖
Two Rivers Press
21 February 2021
My thanks to the publisher and author for my copy of this poetry collection
Yield is a mother’s story told in poems.
Three definitions of the word Yield give meaning to the odyssey undergone in Claire Dyer’s third collection: a journey which sees a son become a daughter, and a mother a poet for both of them. Charting these transitions, the poems take us through territories known and familiar – landscapes of childhood, family and home – into further regions where inner lives alter, outer ones are reimagined. Whether evoking clinic visits, throwing away old boyhood clothes, grieving over what’s lost, these honest and unashamed poems build to celebrate that place at the heart of motherhood where gender is no differentiator and love the gain.
📖 My Thoughts..
Motherhood is a complex business, from the moment you meet your child, you only ever want what’s best for them. You absorb their hurts and disappointments, revel in their triumphs and walk with them, albeit silently, through every aspect of their lives, giving them space when they need it, curling them into you when the hurts are too great, and being there like a silent shield when they need a protective bubble.
In this eloquent collection of poetry, Claire Dyer has, with great insight, and empathy, charted her myriad thoughts, and at times, quite raw feelings, as her son makes the brave transition to become her daughter. Beautiful and incredibly complex, Yield took me on an emotional journey, sometimes wonderfully expansive, whilst at other times so viscerally raw that the sheer breadth of emotion took me to places I could only ever imagine.
My first read through took me by surprise, not just at the wealth and richness of the language, I've read this author's work before and I know how good a wordsmith she is, but I was astonished at just how quickly the accumulated power of the words consumed me. The comparisons with nature, with animals and with colour, is particularly strong and brought to mind, quite vividly, an emotional first aid box, the kind I used to, once upon a time, encourage the newly bereaved put together in order to help them make sense of a difficult emotional journey.
Yield is a powerful and emotive collection of poetry which can stand several read throughs, in fact, for me, the poems became stronger the more I read into them and I think that's where the strength of this incredibly personal collection lies, in that the more you read, the more you discover. The verses speak on a profound level which is so personal it hurts, and yet there's a beautiful lyricism which will stay with me for a long time
June 29, 2021
A collection of personal poems.
Yield is an intimate, intense portrait of a mother’s profound, unconditional love for her child, even when circumstances are challenging. I found this multi-faceted collection interesting, beautifully written and utterly inspiring. Claire Dyer writes poetry that tackles a modern concept – a son transitioning into a daughter – with freshness and innovation whilst drawing on the traditions of poetry that give the entire work gravitas and depth. So many times when reading Yield I was reminded of the poetry of Gerald Manley Hopkins, Emily Dickinson or Dylan Thomas, because of the intricately crafted lines, the natural references and the depth of feeling behind the poems.
I don’t know whether Claire Dyer paints as well as writes, but I found Yield a highly visual collection. Blues and yellows abound and there is a painterly eye for detail that makes the poems vibrate with meaning. In Saturday, for example the lines read akin to setting detail in a play so that I could envisage Claire Dyer moving through her day so vividly. I loved the iterative references to foxes in many of the poems, representing, to me, depth of colour, pain, fierce protection, man’s intolerance and cruelty – all the elements that the writer experiences in her own life.
As the son transitions to become a daughter, all manner of emotions are conveyed through Yield. Claire Dyer is unafraid to express her sense of loss and grief as well as her sense of pride and intense love. Images of shattering, blood and pain reveal the ways she comes to terms with her child’s life and, although I don’t have a maternal element in my body, the final couple of lines of Bearded moved me to tears which I think is testament to the power of the writing. Similarly, the physical structure of the poems represents so magnificently the meaning conveyed. Fractured lines and words, the use of enjambment, compound adjectives alongside images of prosaic reality all show the swirling, sometimes difficult emotions Claire Dyer is feeling.
I confess to having read Yield several times and every time I have found new aspects to admire. I loved the way Easter Break, for example, unites male and female identities at a time we usually associate with death and rebirth. I have a feeling that Yield, taken with the first meaning Claire Dyer presents in her collection, will give up more and more, the more times I read it.
Yield is a magnificent anthology. It is a multi-layered, emotive and resonant presentation of what it means to be a mother. Reading Yield feels as if I have been given privileged access to the innermost thoughts and emotions of a hugely talented writer. I feel privileged to have read it.
Yield is an intimate, intense portrait of a mother’s profound, unconditional love for her child, even when circumstances are challenging. I found this multi-faceted collection interesting, beautifully written and utterly inspiring. Claire Dyer writes poetry that tackles a modern concept – a son transitioning into a daughter – with freshness and innovation whilst drawing on the traditions of poetry that give the entire work gravitas and depth. So many times when reading Yield I was reminded of the poetry of Gerald Manley Hopkins, Emily Dickinson or Dylan Thomas, because of the intricately crafted lines, the natural references and the depth of feeling behind the poems.
I don’t know whether Claire Dyer paints as well as writes, but I found Yield a highly visual collection. Blues and yellows abound and there is a painterly eye for detail that makes the poems vibrate with meaning. In Saturday, for example the lines read akin to setting detail in a play so that I could envisage Claire Dyer moving through her day so vividly. I loved the iterative references to foxes in many of the poems, representing, to me, depth of colour, pain, fierce protection, man’s intolerance and cruelty – all the elements that the writer experiences in her own life.
As the son transitions to become a daughter, all manner of emotions are conveyed through Yield. Claire Dyer is unafraid to express her sense of loss and grief as well as her sense of pride and intense love. Images of shattering, blood and pain reveal the ways she comes to terms with her child’s life and, although I don’t have a maternal element in my body, the final couple of lines of Bearded moved me to tears which I think is testament to the power of the writing. Similarly, the physical structure of the poems represents so magnificently the meaning conveyed. Fractured lines and words, the use of enjambment, compound adjectives alongside images of prosaic reality all show the swirling, sometimes difficult emotions Claire Dyer is feeling.
I confess to having read Yield several times and every time I have found new aspects to admire. I loved the way Easter Break, for example, unites male and female identities at a time we usually associate with death and rebirth. I have a feeling that Yield, taken with the first meaning Claire Dyer presents in her collection, will give up more and more, the more times I read it.
Yield is a magnificent anthology. It is a multi-layered, emotive and resonant presentation of what it means to be a mother. Reading Yield feels as if I have been given privileged access to the innermost thoughts and emotions of a hugely talented writer. I feel privileged to have read it.
March 28, 2021
There are situations where poetry is the perfect canvas.
The relationship between parent and child is complex - we want our young adults to be independent, healthy, happy, fulfilled, loving and loved and yet they remain a part of us and their choices continue to affect us.
I loved these poems, recording a raw and honest struggle over what appears to be a choice, but is as inexorable and irresistible as the need to document the reactions and emotions to it. It's brave to be so vulnerable, so exposed. Love is unconditional but that doesn't mean it endures without struggle.
The poems feel immediate and true and the collection is both moving and beautiful. Parcel post is a clever poem that could be read alone, but the the collection is just perfect as a whole. It tells the story of a difficult journey where everyone (reader included) grows and is changed for the better.
The relationship between parent and child is complex - we want our young adults to be independent, healthy, happy, fulfilled, loving and loved and yet they remain a part of us and their choices continue to affect us.
I loved these poems, recording a raw and honest struggle over what appears to be a choice, but is as inexorable and irresistible as the need to document the reactions and emotions to it. It's brave to be so vulnerable, so exposed. Love is unconditional but that doesn't mean it endures without struggle.
The poems feel immediate and true and the collection is both moving and beautiful. Parcel post is a clever poem that could be read alone, but the the collection is just perfect as a whole. It tells the story of a difficult journey where everyone (reader included) grows and is changed for the better.
March 21, 2021
This review can be found at sarahsvignettes.wordpress.com
Wow...Yield is something else...Gosh, I don't know where to begin talking about my experiences from reading the poems in Claire Dyer's latest collection. It's rare an author and their work can leave me speechless, but Clare Dyer has done so...again!
I first came across Claire Dyer's writing when I read her novel The Last Day (an intelligent and compelling story about life, love, loss, and relationships, as well as a clever observation of human nature). I remember thinking about how poetic and melodic her prose was. And being utterly in awe of her writing. I have experienced that again with Yield.
Through this collection, Claire Dyer lays her thoughts bare on transitioning from being a mother to a son to that of a daughter. Each poem is unique, yet read together tell a story, and I feel I have been on a journey too. I will need to read the poems a few more times to appreciate them and their messages fully.
Yield is emotional, raw, greatly observed - Claire Dyer has a real knack for expressing human behaviour in situations - and most of all, honest.
My thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy of the anthology in return for this honest review.
Wow...Yield is something else...Gosh, I don't know where to begin talking about my experiences from reading the poems in Claire Dyer's latest collection. It's rare an author and their work can leave me speechless, but Clare Dyer has done so...again!
I first came across Claire Dyer's writing when I read her novel The Last Day (an intelligent and compelling story about life, love, loss, and relationships, as well as a clever observation of human nature). I remember thinking about how poetic and melodic her prose was. And being utterly in awe of her writing. I have experienced that again with Yield.
Through this collection, Claire Dyer lays her thoughts bare on transitioning from being a mother to a son to that of a daughter. Each poem is unique, yet read together tell a story, and I feel I have been on a journey too. I will need to read the poems a few more times to appreciate them and their messages fully.
Yield is emotional, raw, greatly observed - Claire Dyer has a real knack for expressing human behaviour in situations - and most of all, honest.
My thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy of the anthology in return for this honest review.
July 22, 2021
Shortlisted for the Rubery Book Award 2021
These are thoughtful, sensitive poems in which the speaker is often struggling to make sense of the world. Many acknowledge the necessity of 'yielding' to at least some of life's difficulties, and above all recognising the dangers of certainty. This idea is often relevant to gender: 'The Label Maker', for instance, asks what becomes of those who 'falter / at the gender box' when their category is missing, making a point about the reductive definitions we face in the world; likewise, in 'Trans' we find that life's 'handbook has no drawings' to assist 'the rare boys and girls / who shape-shift and move on', yet move on they do, embracing the gift of 'knowing without saying'. Throughout the collection a compassionate and perceptive intelligence strives to describe and interpret a shifting, unpredictable world, finding that the best she can do is accept it, and be grateful for it. This is suggested strongly in the final poem, ‘Yield III’, where she relives her experience of childbirth in reverse, and finds herself 'choosing you once more, / a thousand times again. Yield'.
These are thoughtful, sensitive poems in which the speaker is often struggling to make sense of the world. Many acknowledge the necessity of 'yielding' to at least some of life's difficulties, and above all recognising the dangers of certainty. This idea is often relevant to gender: 'The Label Maker', for instance, asks what becomes of those who 'falter / at the gender box' when their category is missing, making a point about the reductive definitions we face in the world; likewise, in 'Trans' we find that life's 'handbook has no drawings' to assist 'the rare boys and girls / who shape-shift and move on', yet move on they do, embracing the gift of 'knowing without saying'. Throughout the collection a compassionate and perceptive intelligence strives to describe and interpret a shifting, unpredictable world, finding that the best she can do is accept it, and be grateful for it. This is suggested strongly in the final poem, ‘Yield III’, where she relives her experience of childbirth in reverse, and finds herself 'choosing you once more, / a thousand times again. Yield'.
March 1, 2021
Exquisite.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews