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The Poet
Bright, promising Emma is entangled in a toxic romance with her former professor--and she's losing control. Cruel, charming Tom is idolized by his students and peers, confident he holds all the cards. In their small Oxford home, he manipulates and undermines her every thought and act. Soon, he will push her to the limit and she must decide: to remain quiet and submit, or to take her revenge.
Written in verse and charged with passion and anger, The Poet is a portrait of a deeply dysfunctional relationship, exploring coercive control, class, and privilege. It is also a page-turning tale of female solidarity and survival.
Written in verse and charged with passion and anger, The Poet is a portrait of a deeply dysfunctional relationship, exploring coercive control, class, and privilege. It is also a page-turning tale of female solidarity and survival.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published June 9, 2022
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5113 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 187 reviews
January 16, 2023
love reading books about women putting shitty, dumb, ugly ass men in their right places (as they should)
i've never read a verse novel before, but boy was this stunning. honestly one of the best books i've read. well and beautifully executed
also it actually pains my heart that this is underrated??? like you need to get your copies NOW
i've never read a verse novel before, but boy was this stunning. honestly one of the best books i've read. well and beautifully executed
also it actually pains my heart that this is underrated??? like you need to get your copies NOW
November 25, 2021
4.5 survival stars!
"You have failed to bury me
deep in the footnotes,
nor squeezed me into the well
of your fountain pen.
I have slipped out from under the butter dish,
the human remains wholly here."
How would you feel if a mirror were to relentlessly hang on to your reflection even when you do not want it to? Louisa Reid’s poetry will do just that. Strip you naked in the midst of the blankness of your existence; commit to the page the interior bleedingness of your life. Make you look at yourself: an "incognito", a "tabula rasa", "deflated" and unnoticed. Eternally "slipping away"; "out of print" in your own life,
"Estranged from
them
and from
myself"
The Poet is a powerful work that feels real, intimate, and rings of truth. It is a narrative poem fragmented and fragmentary, held together by the motif of ‘rubbish’ and the "evidence of atrophy", by the excruciating coming to oneself. It is about self-shrinking in the toxicity of relationships, about the spaces and gaps between people, the pervading iciness, and indifference. About the indistinct volume of roads leading nowhere, and the "impermanent impressions" that we all are.
The storyline has a certain allure to it: a student, Emma, become lover of her professor, Tom, at Oxford University. And yet, the poetry hollows out its seductiveness, and you become the maker of your own disintegrated disillusionment.
The perspective is female, though not feminist. It resists abstraction, wholly surrendering itself to the awkward blush of piercing intimacy. The lucidity of the poetic voice is, to my mind, positively astounding. Its thematic strands interweave and take a life of their own, a life of thoughts, words, emotions. I particularly love how the narrative gives way to the poetic and vice versa, while intensely delving into:
1. the mythologisation of the intellectual figure or the educator: defined as the "Ubermensch", "half human, half mythology", "Odysseus", a "legend", and so on
2. toxicity, silence, and bubbling resentment in manipulative relationships – a "duel" of sorts
3. the nullification / fortification of the self: the condition of self-lessness, the self as adrift and irretrievable, but also the soul’s pining, "lost in the wasteland of what was", "the wasteland of the future", yet "starving" (the titles often refer to ‘hunger’ or ‘thirst’), yearning to "emerge out of this cell", and discover the "recipe/for survival"
4. revenge and sisterhood: the double-sided coin that alone offers escape from total self-abnegation
I particularly enjoyed how the love of poetry and the word stands as a theme in its own right. How Reid structures the text around the poetry of a relatively overlooked English poet, Charlotte Mew, and pays humble homage to Hardy, Eliot’s The Wasteland, Beckett, Rossetti, Keats, Shakespeare’s sonnets, Shelley, Plath, Dickinson, and many more.
The Poet is absolutely stunning. Silently seductive, poignant and mesmerising. There is something chilling and petrifying in its sober portrayal of the disastrous messiness that make up a life. In the way it traces the survival instinct at work towards a phoenix-like revival from the ashes.
The title might indeed be overly ambitious, but this here is a poet in the making.
Highly recommended!
Thanks go to NetGalley, author, and publisher for this ARC. All thoughts expressed here are my own.
"You have failed to bury me
deep in the footnotes,
nor squeezed me into the well
of your fountain pen.
I have slipped out from under the butter dish,
the human remains wholly here."
How would you feel if a mirror were to relentlessly hang on to your reflection even when you do not want it to? Louisa Reid’s poetry will do just that. Strip you naked in the midst of the blankness of your existence; commit to the page the interior bleedingness of your life. Make you look at yourself: an "incognito", a "tabula rasa", "deflated" and unnoticed. Eternally "slipping away"; "out of print" in your own life,
"Estranged from
them
and from
myself"
The Poet is a powerful work that feels real, intimate, and rings of truth. It is a narrative poem fragmented and fragmentary, held together by the motif of ‘rubbish’ and the "evidence of atrophy", by the excruciating coming to oneself. It is about self-shrinking in the toxicity of relationships, about the spaces and gaps between people, the pervading iciness, and indifference. About the indistinct volume of roads leading nowhere, and the "impermanent impressions" that we all are.
The storyline has a certain allure to it: a student, Emma, become lover of her professor, Tom, at Oxford University. And yet, the poetry hollows out its seductiveness, and you become the maker of your own disintegrated disillusionment.
The perspective is female, though not feminist. It resists abstraction, wholly surrendering itself to the awkward blush of piercing intimacy. The lucidity of the poetic voice is, to my mind, positively astounding. Its thematic strands interweave and take a life of their own, a life of thoughts, words, emotions. I particularly love how the narrative gives way to the poetic and vice versa, while intensely delving into:
1. the mythologisation of the intellectual figure or the educator: defined as the "Ubermensch", "half human, half mythology", "Odysseus", a "legend", and so on
2. toxicity, silence, and bubbling resentment in manipulative relationships – a "duel" of sorts
3. the nullification / fortification of the self: the condition of self-lessness, the self as adrift and irretrievable, but also the soul’s pining, "lost in the wasteland of what was", "the wasteland of the future", yet "starving" (the titles often refer to ‘hunger’ or ‘thirst’), yearning to "emerge out of this cell", and discover the "recipe/for survival"
4. revenge and sisterhood: the double-sided coin that alone offers escape from total self-abnegation
I particularly enjoyed how the love of poetry and the word stands as a theme in its own right. How Reid structures the text around the poetry of a relatively overlooked English poet, Charlotte Mew, and pays humble homage to Hardy, Eliot’s The Wasteland, Beckett, Rossetti, Keats, Shakespeare’s sonnets, Shelley, Plath, Dickinson, and many more.
The Poet is absolutely stunning. Silently seductive, poignant and mesmerising. There is something chilling and petrifying in its sober portrayal of the disastrous messiness that make up a life. In the way it traces the survival instinct at work towards a phoenix-like revival from the ashes.
The title might indeed be overly ambitious, but this here is a poet in the making.
Highly recommended!
Thanks go to NetGalley, author, and publisher for this ARC. All thoughts expressed here are my own.
Read
January 4, 2026Source of book: Bought for myself
Relevant disclaimers: None
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
And remember: I am not here to judge your drag, I mean your book. Books are art and art is subjective. These are just my personal thoughts. They are not meant to be taken as broader commentary on the general quality of the work. Believe me, I have not enjoyed many an excellent book, and my individual lack of enjoyment has not made any of those books less excellent or (more relevantly) less successful.
***
Oh wow, I am completely obsessed with this.
Basically it’s a novel (a shortish novel) entirely in verse. And it works. It really fucking works. Or, at least, it did for me.
Obviously The Poet not the first, or the only, novel in verse that’s ever written (err, nor does it position itself as such) and I’ve read a few in mine (Autobiography of Red, Eugene Onegin, The Poet X) but, the truth is, and as I’ve stated on this site many times as I’ve attempted to talk about the stuff, I’m not the best reader of poetry.
I got this, though. Because, while it benefits a lot from the form, and restrictions, of poetry, it’s also found it fairly accessible.
Put simply, the heroine of The Poet (who is, in fact, a poet) is a young woman who is caught up in in a toxic relationship with her former professor. A working class student, who made it Oxford, Emma publishes a successful book of poetry at twenty-one before embarking on a DPhil (PhD to the rest of the world) she’s as good as abandoned. Her partner, Tom, is a charming and charismatic academic who left is wife and family to be with her. Several years on, however, Tom seems to be thriving, relying on Emma to keep house for him, emotionally support him, and help him with his career, as Emma slowly dwindles. Eventually, Tom’s behaviour crosses a new line, which gives Emma a new focus: revenge.
This is not an emotionally easy book to read. It’s never too much but it takes a long time--given the slight length of the book--for Emma to shake off her fugue of diminishment. Obviously there are very understandable reasons for this, I’m not sitting here being like “people in abusive contexts should get their act together more efficiently” but it does mean the The Poet is, in general, rather a slow build. The fact it does take its time, however, coupled with the intimate style of its poetic form, means that it’s easy for the reader to become deeply emotionally involved with Emma. And this, in turn, makes her reclamation of her life and her selfhood--and the broader act of reclamation she performs, which I don’t want to spoil--hit incredibly powerfully.
There’s so much I could say about The Poet but I want people to have the pleasure of reading it for themselves. For something that’s on the surface so simple--a man, a woman, a betrayal, revenge--it’s a gorgeously rich narrative, embedded in place and time, and the whole messy history of women’s writing, and the way it is so often co-opted by men, almost without question, as if it’s their place to do so. At one point Emma notes that Tom sees her as Tess of the d’Ubervilles:
Emma notes she “didn’t say no” but that her background--the whole business of who is and where she comes from--is far more complex.
But gosh the layers here, of perception and identity, of Emma being written over by Tom, to fit another narrative of a woman constructed by a man. Apparently forgetting that Angel is not Tess’s saviour, but instead destroys her soul (after her body has already been violated by a different man). I should also say that the the poet of the title is both Emma herself, and the Victorian poet Charlotte Mew, who I’d never heard of and have subsequently become obsessed with it.
And, of course, I personally loved the fact the book is set in Oxford. The city is--its beauty, and its cruelty, its history of inaccessibility and exclusivity --is part of Emma’s story.
I’ve actually read The Poet about three times since I picked it up on a whim midway through last year. Every now and then, as well, I just grab it and dip into it--letting a phrase, or a thought, catch my attention, with that crystalline clarity that, sometimes, only poetry can offer. I think the best description of what poetry “is” came from a former poet I knew briefly, and she said that prose is visual art (it presents an idea, an image, a story from a fixed perspective) but that poetry is sculpture. It’s designed with the intention to be perceived from many angles. It’s art you can walk around. Well, I’ve walked around this book a whole bunch of times, make of what you will. I’m also slightly shocked the author isn’t a career poet. She’s a novelist who just woke up one day, like Elle Woods, and decided to write poetry. Well, not quite, there’s slightly more to it, than this, but I’m just so impressed at the skill and the … I want to say … audacity, but that’s a word that can carry a negative implication. A touch of the “how dare you that you think you have the right to do just this.” But finding your own capacity for audacity, when privilege is basically just audacity normalised, is a theme of the book so I love that there’s also a story about the author in the creative choices present on the page.
If I’m not careful, I could make this review a string of quotations from the book so I’ll just choose a couple of my favourites to give you a flavour.
On Tom:
On Oxford:
I know I said at the beginning that it’s a revenge story, but I think that slightly undermines the depth of the narrative. The revenge in question is deeply earned and consequently rather satisfying, but it feels important that it doesn’t ultimately give Emma any answers:
It’s not the emotional climax of the book. That comes in aftermath with the catharsis of Emma’s hard-earned self-worth.
Anyway, The Poet is a story I truly truly loved. One of my favourite things I’ve read in a long time (which is not to diminish any of the other wonderful things I’ve read). Please do pick it up if anything I’ve said here is of interest to you.
Relevant disclaimers: None
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
And remember: I am not here to judge your drag, I mean your book. Books are art and art is subjective. These are just my personal thoughts. They are not meant to be taken as broader commentary on the general quality of the work. Believe me, I have not enjoyed many an excellent book, and my individual lack of enjoyment has not made any of those books less excellent or (more relevantly) less successful.
***
Oh wow, I am completely obsessed with this.
Basically it’s a novel (a shortish novel) entirely in verse. And it works. It really fucking works. Or, at least, it did for me.
Obviously The Poet not the first, or the only, novel in verse that’s ever written (err, nor does it position itself as such) and I’ve read a few in mine (Autobiography of Red, Eugene Onegin, The Poet X) but, the truth is, and as I’ve stated on this site many times as I’ve attempted to talk about the stuff, I’m not the best reader of poetry.
I got this, though. Because, while it benefits a lot from the form, and restrictions, of poetry, it’s also found it fairly accessible.
Put simply, the heroine of The Poet (who is, in fact, a poet) is a young woman who is caught up in in a toxic relationship with her former professor. A working class student, who made it Oxford, Emma publishes a successful book of poetry at twenty-one before embarking on a DPhil (PhD to the rest of the world) she’s as good as abandoned. Her partner, Tom, is a charming and charismatic academic who left is wife and family to be with her. Several years on, however, Tom seems to be thriving, relying on Emma to keep house for him, emotionally support him, and help him with his career, as Emma slowly dwindles. Eventually, Tom’s behaviour crosses a new line, which gives Emma a new focus: revenge.
This is not an emotionally easy book to read. It’s never too much but it takes a long time--given the slight length of the book--for Emma to shake off her fugue of diminishment. Obviously there are very understandable reasons for this, I’m not sitting here being like “people in abusive contexts should get their act together more efficiently” but it does mean the The Poet is, in general, rather a slow build. The fact it does take its time, however, coupled with the intimate style of its poetic form, means that it’s easy for the reader to become deeply emotionally involved with Emma. And this, in turn, makes her reclamation of her life and her selfhood--and the broader act of reclamation she performs, which I don’t want to spoil--hit incredibly powerfully.
There’s so much I could say about The Poet but I want people to have the pleasure of reading it for themselves. For something that’s on the surface so simple--a man, a woman, a betrayal, revenge--it’s a gorgeously rich narrative, embedded in place and time, and the whole messy history of women’s writing, and the way it is so often co-opted by men, almost without question, as if it’s their place to do so. At one point Emma notes that Tom sees her as Tess of the d’Ubervilles:
I came from countryside,
from hills,
and from people who didn’t read books,
you thought.
It was easy to come to the conclusion that
I was your Tess,
pure, simple girl,
and you were my Angel, of course.
Emma notes she “didn’t say no” but that her background--the whole business of who is and where she comes from--is far more complex.
I was just another girl
who’d been called odd at school
for liking books more than boys,
for preferring words to tongues or
intruding fingers,
and scorning small-town ideas about what I
could become.
But gosh the layers here, of perception and identity, of Emma being written over by Tom, to fit another narrative of a woman constructed by a man. Apparently forgetting that Angel is not Tess’s saviour, but instead destroys her soul (after her body has already been violated by a different man). I should also say that the the poet of the title is both Emma herself, and the Victorian poet Charlotte Mew, who I’d never heard of and have subsequently become obsessed with it.
And, of course, I personally loved the fact the book is set in Oxford. The city is--its beauty, and its cruelty, its history of inaccessibility and exclusivity --is part of Emma’s story.
The walk is slow.
I don’t want to
leave this city behind,
the one that made me
and betrayed me,
stole so much of my heart –
but I guess I’m breaking up with these spires,
pulling them out from under my skin
like splinters or needles,
one by one.
I’ve actually read The Poet about three times since I picked it up on a whim midway through last year. Every now and then, as well, I just grab it and dip into it--letting a phrase, or a thought, catch my attention, with that crystalline clarity that, sometimes, only poetry can offer. I think the best description of what poetry “is” came from a former poet I knew briefly, and she said that prose is visual art (it presents an idea, an image, a story from a fixed perspective) but that poetry is sculpture. It’s designed with the intention to be perceived from many angles. It’s art you can walk around. Well, I’ve walked around this book a whole bunch of times, make of what you will. I’m also slightly shocked the author isn’t a career poet. She’s a novelist who just woke up one day, like Elle Woods, and decided to write poetry. Well, not quite, there’s slightly more to it, than this, but I’m just so impressed at the skill and the … I want to say … audacity, but that’s a word that can carry a negative implication. A touch of the “how dare you that you think you have the right to do just this.” But finding your own capacity for audacity, when privilege is basically just audacity normalised, is a theme of the book so I love that there’s also a story about the author in the creative choices present on the page.
If I’m not careful, I could make this review a string of quotations from the book so I’ll just choose a couple of my favourites to give you a flavour.
On Tom:
You accentuate your face,
its sculpted planes,
in the way you shave your head and wear your
clothes
and I wonder how many hours you spent
seeking this version of yourself –
Greek god turned gangster –
in trashy magazines, or Europe’s marble halls?
You enjoy the surprise on
people’s faces when you open your mouth
and gift them with the privilege of your
tongue.
On Oxford:
Dusk falls
and the sky unravels huge and clear with
winter.
It’s better in the dark, this town –
colleges stark as cut-out castles
popping up against the vastness of the night –
I know I said at the beginning that it’s a revenge story, but I think that slightly undermines the depth of the narrative. The revenge in question is deeply earned and consequently rather satisfying, but it feels important that it doesn’t ultimately give Emma any answers:
This should feel better, should be easier
than it is.
We are all tears and sighs and guilty sweat.
It’s not the emotional climax of the book. That comes in aftermath with the catharsis of Emma’s hard-earned self-worth.
Anyway, The Poet is a story I truly truly loved. One of my favourite things I’ve read in a long time (which is not to diminish any of the other wonderful things I’ve read). Please do pick it up if anything I’ve said here is of interest to you.
October 11, 2022
two of my favourite things in one book: sad girl novels and sad girl poetry
[full review to come]
[full review to come]
June 24, 2022
Sensational. Stunning. Profound. Affecting. Wonderful.
I haven't read poetry for years (since my school days) but I was incredibly curious when I was invited on the blog tour for this one.
So, a little out of my comfort zone but a book I couldn't wait to start. I was wary it may be 'too advanced' and would take more brain power than I had to follow it.
How wrong I was.
The writing is immensely readable and easy to follow and I cherished every word.
I finished this days ago, and it still comes into my thoughts, and I expect will stay with me for months and probably years to come.
The writing is breathtaking. The descriptions Reid uses made me gasp, and smile the entire time, even when I was reading something utterly tragic.
I honestly cannot think of enough ways to describe how incredible this book is.
I haven't read poetry for years (since my school days) but I was incredibly curious when I was invited on the blog tour for this one.
So, a little out of my comfort zone but a book I couldn't wait to start. I was wary it may be 'too advanced' and would take more brain power than I had to follow it.
How wrong I was.
The writing is immensely readable and easy to follow and I cherished every word.
I finished this days ago, and it still comes into my thoughts, and I expect will stay with me for months and probably years to come.
The writing is breathtaking. The descriptions Reid uses made me gasp, and smile the entire time, even when I was reading something utterly tragic.
I honestly cannot think of enough ways to describe how incredible this book is.
January 21, 2024
“Give me the confidence of a mediocre white man
who thinks he has the right to
a woman’s work –
her words
and womb –
and everything else”
who thinks he has the right to
a woman’s work –
her words
and womb –
and everything else”
September 3, 2023
absolutely incredible. louisa reid i am asking for your hand in marriage
October 8, 2025
I've never read as novel written in verse before so this was new but very beautifully written.....
July 22, 2023
decent but shallow. the best way i can think of to describe the vibe of this book is that zoella is the first endorsement on the cover and that 100% tracks.
June 1, 2022
so so good. this is how a verse novel should be written - lyrical and full of imagery but so very readable! great story, fantastic language.
June 18, 2022
The Poet
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Worthy of every star. I am loving this literary movement of women's literature. Truth. Brutal honesty. We've been in that relationship- I've been in that marriage.
Emma lives with her former professor, Tom. Everyone loves him - charming, attentive, attractive to all. But Emma gets his true self - cruel, manipulative, terrifying, controlling.
Written in verse - outrageously creative, relevant and appropriate every day. This book touches on so many important daily relevant topics - for all women.
One of the best books I have read this year. Go get it!
#thepoet #thepoetbook #womensafety #womenslit #womensfiction #womensliterature #mustread #bestbook #NewRelease #relevant #toxicrelationships
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Worthy of every star. I am loving this literary movement of women's literature. Truth. Brutal honesty. We've been in that relationship- I've been in that marriage.
Emma lives with her former professor, Tom. Everyone loves him - charming, attentive, attractive to all. But Emma gets his true self - cruel, manipulative, terrifying, controlling.
Written in verse - outrageously creative, relevant and appropriate every day. This book touches on so many important daily relevant topics - for all women.
One of the best books I have read this year. Go get it!
#thepoet #thepoetbook #womensafety #womenslit #womensfiction #womensliterature #mustread #bestbook #NewRelease #relevant #toxicrelationships
August 14, 2023
This was an interesting story about toxic love, women being silenced, class, poetry, and revenge. As a novel written in verse, it uses its sentences sparingly so only what is needed to be said, is. There are some beautiful passages in this!
Focusing on an ex-student/professor relationship, this is slow to start before building in tension. For so few words written, this one does an excellent job of portraying anger, heartbreak and loneliness.
An engaging read and my first foray into books written in verse, I feel like this one would work incredibly as an audiobook, but it was also nice to see how each word and sentence were formatted in the physical copy.
Focusing on an ex-student/professor relationship, this is slow to start before building in tension. For so few words written, this one does an excellent job of portraying anger, heartbreak and loneliness.
An engaging read and my first foray into books written in verse, I feel like this one would work incredibly as an audiobook, but it was also nice to see how each word and sentence were formatted in the physical copy.
September 3, 2023
Unexpectedly captivated by the writing style, which portrays this toxic relationship brutally and beautifully.
August 19, 2022
I have just finished one of the best books I have ever read, the massively underrated The Poet by Louisa Reid. The novel is told from the point of view of protagonist Emma as she navigates her relationship with her former Oxford professor Tom. Their relationship began when Tom was still married to Hannah, mother to his two children.
The book is written from Emma to Tom and is fully in verse something I thought I might find off-putting but was in fact sublime. Emma is fully dependant on Tom as she is writing her thesis on a poet she wants to rescue from obscurity, a fin de siecle bard called Charlotte Mew. But it soon becomes clear Emma and Tom's relationship has soured like the milk Tom pays to put in their fridge.
Emma is struggling with writer's block and has bit by bit, stage by stage, become subservient to Tom, a revered and idolised Oxford professor.
This book is nothing short of wonderful, the verse captivating and enthralling from the outset. Reid gives the voice to Emma, not Tom, and she writes with more than a nod to the poets Emma and Tom have studied. It is reminiscent of the poetry of Keats, Byron, Shelley and all the great Romantics they have studied so ardently. Reid makes us remember all the women (Dorothy, Sylvia, Mary, Virginia) whose voices were often obliterated by the poets she conjures. She begs the question how much input wives and lovers such as Dorothy Wordsworth had in their counterparts' work and never lets us forget that behind a strong man often lurks a stronger woman. But due to patriarchal systems and prejudices, it is often the man given the voice.
Emma and Tom's relationship is soon revealed to be toxic; rotten from the inside out, and in Emma's metaphors, allegories rhymes and half-rhymes, her truly great mind is revealed to have been demolished by this relationship. Reid wants to give a voice to all women, not just the lovers of the greats, and it is a book about acerbic love and searing betrayal. We urge Emma on to take a stand, to use her once brilliant mind to out-wit Tom instead of remaining silent and submissive.
It is a poignant and painful call to women everywhere who have been perpetually pushed down, boxed in, by selfish and sadistic men, cruelly betrayed by those they love the most. Tom is a master manipulator who, as Virginia Woolf once wrote, wants to see himself reflected larger, double the size, in every female's admiring gaze. Once I got used to the style, I became submerged in this novel, unable to leave it alone, addicted to its beauty and resonance.
I fell in love with Emma, a heroine I at times wanted to shake into action and, at others, throw my arms around in congratulation.
This is a book about ownership of vocabulary, the power of words once spoken or spat, too late to retract. It is about forgotten voices through the ages, the patriarchy of the Canon and the absolute misogyny some women have to face in the academia and life beyond. It has reminded me why I chose to study English Literature at university and why I love and am obsessed with books.
All of that said, this is not a man-hating novel. Yes, it questions why men used to have more validity in the literary world but it also, in its very essence, reminds us of the litany of great works men have left and will continue to leave, behind.
It is engrossing, spellbinding and I urge everyone out there to read it. Yesterday. It is such an important novel, I wonder where the awards and acclaim for it are. Booker judges; are you not listening?! This book should be showered with adulation. Perhaps it will be a slow burner, like the poems of Charlotte Mew Emma tries so desperately to revive.
All I know is that it is a work of genius. Oh and Louisa Reid, I think it's time you got YOUR blue tick on Twitter. Just saying.
The book is written from Emma to Tom and is fully in verse something I thought I might find off-putting but was in fact sublime. Emma is fully dependant on Tom as she is writing her thesis on a poet she wants to rescue from obscurity, a fin de siecle bard called Charlotte Mew. But it soon becomes clear Emma and Tom's relationship has soured like the milk Tom pays to put in their fridge.
Emma is struggling with writer's block and has bit by bit, stage by stage, become subservient to Tom, a revered and idolised Oxford professor.
This book is nothing short of wonderful, the verse captivating and enthralling from the outset. Reid gives the voice to Emma, not Tom, and she writes with more than a nod to the poets Emma and Tom have studied. It is reminiscent of the poetry of Keats, Byron, Shelley and all the great Romantics they have studied so ardently. Reid makes us remember all the women (Dorothy, Sylvia, Mary, Virginia) whose voices were often obliterated by the poets she conjures. She begs the question how much input wives and lovers such as Dorothy Wordsworth had in their counterparts' work and never lets us forget that behind a strong man often lurks a stronger woman. But due to patriarchal systems and prejudices, it is often the man given the voice.
Emma and Tom's relationship is soon revealed to be toxic; rotten from the inside out, and in Emma's metaphors, allegories rhymes and half-rhymes, her truly great mind is revealed to have been demolished by this relationship. Reid wants to give a voice to all women, not just the lovers of the greats, and it is a book about acerbic love and searing betrayal. We urge Emma on to take a stand, to use her once brilliant mind to out-wit Tom instead of remaining silent and submissive.
It is a poignant and painful call to women everywhere who have been perpetually pushed down, boxed in, by selfish and sadistic men, cruelly betrayed by those they love the most. Tom is a master manipulator who, as Virginia Woolf once wrote, wants to see himself reflected larger, double the size, in every female's admiring gaze. Once I got used to the style, I became submerged in this novel, unable to leave it alone, addicted to its beauty and resonance.
I fell in love with Emma, a heroine I at times wanted to shake into action and, at others, throw my arms around in congratulation.
This is a book about ownership of vocabulary, the power of words once spoken or spat, too late to retract. It is about forgotten voices through the ages, the patriarchy of the Canon and the absolute misogyny some women have to face in the academia and life beyond. It has reminded me why I chose to study English Literature at university and why I love and am obsessed with books.
All of that said, this is not a man-hating novel. Yes, it questions why men used to have more validity in the literary world but it also, in its very essence, reminds us of the litany of great works men have left and will continue to leave, behind.
It is engrossing, spellbinding and I urge everyone out there to read it. Yesterday. It is such an important novel, I wonder where the awards and acclaim for it are. Booker judges; are you not listening?! This book should be showered with adulation. Perhaps it will be a slow burner, like the poems of Charlotte Mew Emma tries so desperately to revive.
All I know is that it is a work of genius. Oh and Louisa Reid, I think it's time you got YOUR blue tick on Twitter. Just saying.
December 21, 2023
“give me the confidence of a mediocre white man
who thinks he has the right to
a woman’s work -
her words
and womb
and everything else.”
i love revengeful women
who thinks he has the right to
a woman’s work -
her words
and womb
and everything else.”
i love revengeful women
January 4, 2025
Female revengeee
March 16, 2024
an amazing story of revenge, loved it!! such a satisfying ending and the writing was also beautiful, made me want to know more about Charlotte Mew
September 3, 2022
I’ve never read a verse novel before so I was hesitant on whether I’d like this book or not, but I loved the description and the book exceeded my expectations.
its not only that the story is powerful but it’s also very beautifully written.
the book explores toxic love and feminine rage, it’s written from Emma’s point of view where she’s addressing Tom, her former professor who she’s in a toxic relationship with and her journey throughout that relationship and how she overcomes it.
its not only that the story is powerful but it’s also very beautifully written.
the book explores toxic love and feminine rage, it’s written from Emma’s point of view where she’s addressing Tom, her former professor who she’s in a toxic relationship with and her journey throughout that relationship and how she overcomes it.
March 8, 2024
”You saw an opportunity,
a chance,
fresh lands to exploit,
a pirate let loose on the high seas of my hope.”
I bought this book ages ago and can’t believe I’ve only just got around to reading it. While the writing flowed, the content was challenging and outright difficult to read as a woman purely because it was so plausible, a reality that so many women are living with at the hands of individuals who are protected by the veil of security, authority and respectability that is the privilege of white, middle-class men.
In telling Emma’s story through verse, it allowed the uncontrolled flow of the inner emotions that Emma was forced to keep so tightly controlled in her outer life. “The Poet” held many meanings in this book, being Emma’s occupation and also proving to be the defining factor in her coming to recognise the manipulative, abusive power that Tom exerted over her. Through this outpouring, we saw the tailoring of his patterns of abuse to cripple Emma while using her work to further his own position and how that left Emma in a constant state of uncertainty of herself. That Tom was her lecturer, held a position of power over her and preyed on her and was never questioned on this matter allowed him to prey upon a young woman full of ambition and strip that ambition away until her passion and talent was consumed by him, his arrogance preventing him from seeing that that very passion and talent would become his deserved undoing.
I loved that female friendship was at the heart of allowing Emma to rediscover her voice and empowerment, especially against the backdrop of an academic, professional environment where her claims against Tom were written off as “hysterical” and the trauma of her miscarriage was weaponised against her.
a chance,
fresh lands to exploit,
a pirate let loose on the high seas of my hope.”
I bought this book ages ago and can’t believe I’ve only just got around to reading it. While the writing flowed, the content was challenging and outright difficult to read as a woman purely because it was so plausible, a reality that so many women are living with at the hands of individuals who are protected by the veil of security, authority and respectability that is the privilege of white, middle-class men.
In telling Emma’s story through verse, it allowed the uncontrolled flow of the inner emotions that Emma was forced to keep so tightly controlled in her outer life. “The Poet” held many meanings in this book, being Emma’s occupation and also proving to be the defining factor in her coming to recognise the manipulative, abusive power that Tom exerted over her. Through this outpouring, we saw the tailoring of his patterns of abuse to cripple Emma while using her work to further his own position and how that left Emma in a constant state of uncertainty of herself. That Tom was her lecturer, held a position of power over her and preyed on her and was never questioned on this matter allowed him to prey upon a young woman full of ambition and strip that ambition away until her passion and talent was consumed by him, his arrogance preventing him from seeing that that very passion and talent would become his deserved undoing.
I loved that female friendship was at the heart of allowing Emma to rediscover her voice and empowerment, especially against the backdrop of an academic, professional environment where her claims against Tom were written off as “hysterical” and the trauma of her miscarriage was weaponised against her.
![Profile Image for Amy [adleilareads].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1652548137i%2F91470664._UY200_CR0%2C0%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
July 27, 2022
This absolutely blew me away. Brilliantly bold in its lyrical form, it tells the story of Emma, a recent English lit graduate, who is in a relationship with her old university lecturer/mentor Tom. The relationship, which was once full of passion and love, has now turned sour and Emma is beginning to see Tom for his true self - a manipulative, gaslighting cheat.
The Poet is very aptly written in poetry and verse, and despite not being the biggest poetry fan, this is so well written and clever. It tells a whole story which could read as a novel and left me transfixed. Certain parts were hard to read, as Emma is emotionally and mentally abused to a point where she doubts her talent, her mind and her self worth. But as she comes to the realisation of how she is being treated and once again begins to reignite her passion for writing and poetry, she becomes a formidable force - and the form was perfect for showcasing this.
The writing was what stood out for me and there are far too many lines worth mentioning but here’s one of my favourites:
“I wanted to sit in a book lined room
wombed in words.
I didn’t see the tomb that waited
for the woman
who underrated herself.”
A fantastic debut and thank you to Penguin RH for my copy
The Poet is very aptly written in poetry and verse, and despite not being the biggest poetry fan, this is so well written and clever. It tells a whole story which could read as a novel and left me transfixed. Certain parts were hard to read, as Emma is emotionally and mentally abused to a point where she doubts her talent, her mind and her self worth. But as she comes to the realisation of how she is being treated and once again begins to reignite her passion for writing and poetry, she becomes a formidable force - and the form was perfect for showcasing this.
The writing was what stood out for me and there are far too many lines worth mentioning but here’s one of my favourites:
“I wanted to sit in a book lined room
wombed in words.
I didn’t see the tomb that waited
for the woman
who underrated herself.”
A fantastic debut and thank you to Penguin RH for my copy
June 10, 2022
I have rather conflicting feelings about this one. On the one hand so stunningly written in free verse (I found the form quite accessible and had no problem getting into it), with the most visceral and painful imageries that perfectly captures how trapped and claustrophobic Emma felt. Her self-esteem is beyond shattered by the cruel Professor Tom. However, on the other hand our story starts when Emma is 25-years old, and at this point has been in a relationship for almost four years with the man who was once her professor. I think the problem was that I felt Emma was old enough to leave the relationship and her constant complaining of Tom began to feel, dare I admit, tedious and whiny. I didn’t think a 25-year old was a precious young thing and didn’t understand why she stopped writing and was “stuck”. She was living with Tom who paid for everything, and had plenty of time to write considering Emma didn’t have a job and did gardening all day. What was stopping her? Besides her debilitating thoughts, which was due to her and not to Tom.
Something monumental does happen halfway through plot wise, but then the momentum dips down again and I couldn’t understand Emma’s dismissive treatment to Ariel. I think the problem is Emma is supposed to be the victim but I found her annoying and entitled.
Certain things weren’t clear plot wise. What was the award Emma won and who is it due Tom she won it? I felt the plotting could’ve been tighter and more pacy. On the whole, an intriguing and unique read exploring an unhealthy and toxic relationship.
Something monumental does happen halfway through plot wise, but then the momentum dips down again and I couldn’t understand Emma’s dismissive treatment to Ariel. I think the problem is Emma is supposed to be the victim but I found her annoying and entitled.
Certain things weren’t clear plot wise. What was the award Emma won and who is it due Tom she won it? I felt the plotting could’ve been tighter and more pacy. On the whole, an intriguing and unique read exploring an unhealthy and toxic relationship.
April 10, 2023
4.5/5
- A man the readers would also be attracted to
In the novel, Tom is the type of man that young girls often have a crush on. He has well-toned muscles, reflecting his healthy living habits. He is a gentleman with degrees from both Cambridge and Oxford, who has made his name in academia at a young age, and is regarded as a genius by the world. With his humor, wit, and commanding presence, he is always the center of attention. Readers can feel the romantic atmosphere of the novel when they follow Emma's memories of their acquaintance, even though they know that Tom has shed his elitist disguise and revealed his inner shell of selfishness, indifference, and ruthlessness.
- Getting over heartbreak from a lover can be very difficult
Tom's attacks on Emma are widespread, and she willingly submits to him due to her love to him, his social status and academic achievements. As her mentor, he dismisses Emma's research, while as her boyfriend, he only sees her as a maid responsible for cleaning and cooking. Emma appreciates the occasional smile and proximity from Tom, as they seem to be the best rewards she can get. We see Emma fall apart repeatedly, trying to get back on her feet, and attempting to convince herself that the love between them still exists. Getting over heartbreak from a romantic partner can be difficult, but Emma finally manages to move on. However, how many other girls are still stuck in similar situations?
- Girls help girls
Emma's determination to leave and seek revenge was aided by other women. They rescued Emma from despair and propelled her forward. Without their help, Emma may have continued to struggle.
- We are stronger than we think
Emma overcomes self-doubt and achieves revenge through a careful and stoic plan. The beginning and end of Emma are vastly different. As women, we are powerful, and Emma's story empowers me. When we encounter setbacks in intimate relationships, we have to get back up, and we can.
The concluding section flows smoothly. Emma's revenge is likened to a prairie fire that erupts unexpectedly, yielding surprising results. The depiction of the college is vivid, possibly due to the author's own experience at Oxford University. This was my first time reading a novel in the form of poetry, and I had expected it to be tedious, but the author's writing skills made it truly wonderful.
- A man the readers would also be attracted to
In the novel, Tom is the type of man that young girls often have a crush on. He has well-toned muscles, reflecting his healthy living habits. He is a gentleman with degrees from both Cambridge and Oxford, who has made his name in academia at a young age, and is regarded as a genius by the world. With his humor, wit, and commanding presence, he is always the center of attention. Readers can feel the romantic atmosphere of the novel when they follow Emma's memories of their acquaintance, even though they know that Tom has shed his elitist disguise and revealed his inner shell of selfishness, indifference, and ruthlessness.
- Getting over heartbreak from a lover can be very difficult
Tom's attacks on Emma are widespread, and she willingly submits to him due to her love to him, his social status and academic achievements. As her mentor, he dismisses Emma's research, while as her boyfriend, he only sees her as a maid responsible for cleaning and cooking. Emma appreciates the occasional smile and proximity from Tom, as they seem to be the best rewards she can get. We see Emma fall apart repeatedly, trying to get back on her feet, and attempting to convince herself that the love between them still exists. Getting over heartbreak from a romantic partner can be difficult, but Emma finally manages to move on. However, how many other girls are still stuck in similar situations?
- Girls help girls
Emma's determination to leave and seek revenge was aided by other women. They rescued Emma from despair and propelled her forward. Without their help, Emma may have continued to struggle.
- We are stronger than we think
Emma overcomes self-doubt and achieves revenge through a careful and stoic plan. The beginning and end of Emma are vastly different. As women, we are powerful, and Emma's story empowers me. When we encounter setbacks in intimate relationships, we have to get back up, and we can.
The concluding section flows smoothly. Emma's revenge is likened to a prairie fire that erupts unexpectedly, yielding surprising results. The depiction of the college is vivid, possibly due to the author's own experience at Oxford University. This was my first time reading a novel in the form of poetry, and I had expected it to be tedious, but the author's writing skills made it truly wonderful.
June 8, 2022
As soon as I started to read this book I knew it would be different to everything I have read before. It does tell the story of a toxic relationship, which has been done many times before, but is done so in verse. I never thought I would be possible to have so much impact with so few words.
Emma is in a relationship with Tom, lecturer, novelist, charmer, idolised by many. But beneath the surface you get to see the man for what he really is. A bully, cheat and liar who is prepared to do anything to protect his image. It takes Emma a while to realise what he is like but when she does she starts to think of a way in which she can get her revenge.
It did take me longer than I thought it would to read it. I can only think that this was because it had such a big impact despite its brevity. I really sense how alone, betrayed and desperate Emma felt. I could see her self hatred for giving in to him time and time again, not knowing the best way to cope with him. But in the latter stages of the novel I saw her change, able to show how much she hated him and I was cheering as she got what she wanted.
This is an absolutely wonderful novel, I read a digital copy but I definitely need to get a printed edition for when I get the chance to reread it.
Emma is in a relationship with Tom, lecturer, novelist, charmer, idolised by many. But beneath the surface you get to see the man for what he really is. A bully, cheat and liar who is prepared to do anything to protect his image. It takes Emma a while to realise what he is like but when she does she starts to think of a way in which she can get her revenge.
It did take me longer than I thought it would to read it. I can only think that this was because it had such a big impact despite its brevity. I really sense how alone, betrayed and desperate Emma felt. I could see her self hatred for giving in to him time and time again, not knowing the best way to cope with him. But in the latter stages of the novel I saw her change, able to show how much she hated him and I was cheering as she got what she wanted.
This is an absolutely wonderful novel, I read a digital copy but I definitely need to get a printed edition for when I get the chance to reread it.
August 16, 2023
If I ever thought this was a mundane yet classic book on abuse of power written in poetry style, I was wrong. This is chaos yet so eloquent. And messy yet so organised. I love it. Never read anything like it.
It feels like it was written for you, Tom, and we, the audience, are intruding, eavesdropping on this private (book long) ¿¿conversation??
The choice of language, metaphors, similes, the way she describes the events experiences emotion- so brilliant.
HILARY TERM>>
also this is so Power by Billie Eilish coded
It feels like it was written for you, Tom, and we, the audience, are intruding, eavesdropping on this private (book long) ¿¿conversation??
The choice of language, metaphors, similes, the way she describes the events experiences emotion- so brilliant.
HILARY TERM>>
also this is so Power by Billie Eilish coded
April 5, 2024
Overall, this was a very refreshing book to read. I was worried I would struggle as its written in prose, but that actually really added to its value. It made everything very succinct and palatable. I demoted a star because I was worried she wasn't going to actually leave the professor and the woman comradery didn't really arrive until the second half of the book. Also, the hatred of Ari seemed a bit strange to me. I think her revenge was perfect. Fuck men, honestly.
November 21, 2022
Give me the confidence of a mediocre white man
who thinks he has the right to
a woman’s work –
her words
and womb
and everything else.
This was fucking brilliant, an instant new favourite
who thinks he has the right to
a woman’s work –
her words
and womb
and everything else.
This was fucking brilliant, an instant new favourite
April 8, 2024
4.5 stars. This was the first novel in verse I've read and I loved it!
It's beautifully written and I loved the narrative that was used: the main character is a poet and tells her story to her "lover" in poetry form.
I adored the extra dimension this gave and I'm so glad I picked this one up.
It's beautifully written and I loved the narrative that was used: the main character is a poet and tells her story to her "lover" in poetry form.
I adored the extra dimension this gave and I'm so glad I picked this one up.
July 20, 2024
Tom made me angry, and, unfortunately, I know someone like him (thankfully not the same way Emma does). A really good book, not quite what I'd expected. I don't know that I'll read a book quite like this again, but I'd recommend this one to anyone asking.
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