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The Jaguar
With electrifying boldness, Sarah Holland-Batt confronts what it means to be mortal in an astonishing and deeply humane portrait of a father’s Parkinson’s Disease, and a daughter forged by grief.
Opening and closing with startling elegies set in the charged moments before and after a death, and fearlessly probing the body’s animal endurance, appetites and metamorphoses, The Jaguar is marked by Holland-Batt’s lyric intensity and linguistic mastery, along with a stark new clarity of voice.
Here, Holland-Batt is at her most exacting and uncompromising: these ferociously intelligent, insistent poems refuse to look away, and challenge us to view ruthless witness as a form of love. The Jaguar is an indelible collection by a poet at the height of her powers.
Opening and closing with startling elegies set in the charged moments before and after a death, and fearlessly probing the body’s animal endurance, appetites and metamorphoses, The Jaguar is marked by Holland-Batt’s lyric intensity and linguistic mastery, along with a stark new clarity of voice.
Here, Holland-Batt is at her most exacting and uncompromising: these ferociously intelligent, insistent poems refuse to look away, and challenge us to view ruthless witness as a form of love. The Jaguar is an indelible collection by a poet at the height of her powers.
144 pages, Paperback
First published May 3, 2022
41 people are currently reading
874 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Holland-Batt
34 books26 followersSarah Holland-Batt is the author of The Hazards (UQP, 2015), which won the poetry prize at the 2016 Prime Minister's Literary Awards, and Aria (UQP, 2008), which won the Thomas Shapcott Poetry Prize, the Arts ACT Judith Wright Award, and the FAW Anne Elder Award and was shortlisted in both the New South Wales and Queensland Premiers’ Literary Awards. She is presently a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the Queensland University of Technology and the poetry editor of Island.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews
March 22, 2023
This collection starts out purposefully as a record of the poet’s father’s declining health and eventual death. Sections one and two follow this theme and there are some beautifully devastating poems therein. Then the third section seems to take a completely different theme and it becomes a collection of travel poetry. It eventually circles back to the poet’s father but that detour around the world didn’t make sense to me thematically and didn’t resonate as much as the earlier sections, which was a shame.
May 24, 2023
A beautifully written collection of poems focussed on a elegy to her father, travel and lost love. It is a short book that I read twice. I particularly liked the poems about the author’s father that mainly dealt with his last years when he had Parkinson’s disease.
The writing style is very punchy, real and concise. A poignant, intense book about memory and mortality.
I particularly liked the poem about her father’s car purchase. She writes:
‘A folly he bought without test-driving, vintage 1980 XJ, a rebellion against his tremor… finally his modifications killed it, the car he had always wanted and waited, so long to buy, and it sat like a carcass, in the garage, like a headstone, like a coffin”.
A book to reread. I am generally not a poetry reader, but this book is special.
This book won the 2023 Stella Prize.
The writing style is very punchy, real and concise. A poignant, intense book about memory and mortality.
I particularly liked the poem about her father’s car purchase. She writes:
‘A folly he bought without test-driving, vintage 1980 XJ, a rebellion against his tremor… finally his modifications killed it, the car he had always wanted and waited, so long to buy, and it sat like a carcass, in the garage, like a headstone, like a coffin”.
A book to reread. I am generally not a poetry reader, but this book is special.
This book won the 2023 Stella Prize.
November 14, 2023
Holland-Batt brings confidence and cutting clarity to the poetry here. Poetry often explores the poet's own vulnerabilities, but here Holland-Batt takes her pen to chronicling the impossibility of grief and loss of a parent. The first section deals explictly with decline. The lines crackle with humour, anger and a kind of wryness vyes with the strong emotion.
Holland-Batt well captures the complexity of family. Her father can be infuriating: The Jaguar of the title works across themes, but it most obviously represents a car her father buys the day after he is told to stop driving, a hopelessly obstinate decision which gives him pleasure, even in the anger it provokes. But she also shows us the intellectually generous man who raised her to question and to think.
The second section covers her travels, and can be almost hedonistic in its celebrations of a good drink in a hotel, the feeling of a sunrise in a new place. But we never feel disconnected from the reality of her loss - life and loss, voracity and helplessness. It was an unexpected pleasure to read.
Holland-Batt well captures the complexity of family. Her father can be infuriating: The Jaguar of the title works across themes, but it most obviously represents a car her father buys the day after he is told to stop driving, a hopelessly obstinate decision which gives him pleasure, even in the anger it provokes. But she also shows us the intellectually generous man who raised her to question and to think.
The second section covers her travels, and can be almost hedonistic in its celebrations of a good drink in a hotel, the feeling of a sunrise in a new place. But we never feel disconnected from the reality of her loss - life and loss, voracity and helplessness. It was an unexpected pleasure to read.
June 28, 2023
Beautiful poetry. One that I wanted to leave a bit of time between each poem to savour them all the more.
Some spoke to me more than others, which is the only reason I've held back a star. This is a collection that on the rereading it will probably move up to 5 stars rather than drop down. I had to read it a bit quicker than I wanted to because it has to head back to the library to a long line of people who want to read it. The Stella Prize win probably has something to do with the increased demand. I reserved it when it was on the longlist and still had a wait.
Tempted to read it again sometime and then see if I want to buy it and add it to my collection.
I have a copy of one of her previous collections The Hazards and I'll make do with that one for now.
Some spoke to me more than others, which is the only reason I've held back a star. This is a collection that on the rereading it will probably move up to 5 stars rather than drop down. I had to read it a bit quicker than I wanted to because it has to head back to the library to a long line of people who want to read it. The Stella Prize win probably has something to do with the increased demand. I reserved it when it was on the longlist and still had a wait.
Tempted to read it again sometime and then see if I want to buy it and add it to my collection.
I have a copy of one of her previous collections The Hazards and I'll make do with that one for now.
March 25, 2023
A visceral anthology that brings you face to face with mortality.
September 1, 2023
Beautiful imagery and descriptions. I felt like I was travelling the world and heartbroken when reading the poems of her dad in hospit😢
September 4, 2023
This is the best poetry collection I’ve read in a long time. It’s a powerful and moving collection about her father’s Parkinson’s Disease, and her own grief during his slow decline. I had to force myself to slow down because I wanted to read this from cover to cover in one sitting. I plan to go back through and reread my favorite selections aloud. Living through her father’s experience and subsequent health care needs, Holland-Batt became an advocate for improvements to aged care quality and safety.
June 11, 2022
A very vivid and moving anthology. Sarah Holland-Batt is a magician.
December 11, 2025
A heartfelt, honest and beautifully crafted exploration of a father’s Parkinson’s Disease and the act of bearing witness as love.
June 1, 2023
This is my book of the year! The most profound and beautiful language, in poems that capture the essence of the female perspective, but with universal appeal and relevance. If you read no other poem, read The Proposal. A masterful poem, in a spectacular work by a brilliant Australian poet and person.
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October 20, 2023interesting collection. part I was incredible, each poem approached the subject of grief in a new, differently blistering way. part II was also fantastic, though I didn't find it as engaging as the first. I'm sorry to say that most of the rest of the collection lost me, save for a select few poems towards the very end.
it's undeniable that holland-batt is extremely technically skilled - not a single poem wasn't brimming with quicksilver lines. but somewhere along the way they stopped feeling worthwhile. i really struggled to place them within the bigger picture - and perhaps my own expectations were overly bloated after the outstanding first twenty-odd poems.
either way, i'm glad i read it.
it's undeniable that holland-batt is extremely technically skilled - not a single poem wasn't brimming with quicksilver lines. but somewhere along the way they stopped feeling worthwhile. i really struggled to place them within the bigger picture - and perhaps my own expectations were overly bloated after the outstanding first twenty-odd poems.
either way, i'm glad i read it.
March 9, 2023
A collection of poems so steeped in real emotion and time - a period carved out in poetry, of rememberence and reflection.
The poems about Sarah's father, his Parkinson's and his dying, are everything. Perfect emotion filled moments harnessed in the most precise word form. A memorandum, a recounting, a letter to him as he is leaving.
A middle section captures travel, being away, lost and discarded love. Such raw reality.
An unforgettable, poignant collection.
The poems about Sarah's father, his Parkinson's and his dying, are everything. Perfect emotion filled moments harnessed in the most precise word form. A memorandum, a recounting, a letter to him as he is leaving.
A middle section captures travel, being away, lost and discarded love. Such raw reality.
An unforgettable, poignant collection.
August 19, 2022
Exceptional
July 5, 2023
Pure poetic poetry. Haven’t read/listened to anything quite like this and it was a true literary pleasure to be swallowed up by the word smithing and imagery. Short but totally immersive. This novella is told in four parts and is visceral in describing the ending and death of the authors father. One chapter “Lime Jelly” bought me to tears as it was exactly the same experience for my own fathers death. The parts also digress into the authors travels and relationships and whilst these sections may not be quite as powerful or compelling as the parts involving her father they still powerfully tell the story of living life to the full. A very deserved winner of the 2023 Stella Prize.
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August 8, 2025
It's all silence now--the profound silence
which makes all other silences loud
Beautiful poetry.
Yet a large chunk of the book - Part III or IV? - abruptly deviated from the journey we were being led on in respect of the lead up to and horror of the author's father's show decline into death. It inexplicably became a list of her travels, name dropping cities and foods and local flora, and then circled back around. This was never explained, and I found it lost the immersion for me somewhat.
But the poem about the loose stone walls and rolling hills of Yorkshire certainly resonated with me and my childhood memories of it. Gorgeously expressed and achingly real.
which makes all other silences loud
Beautiful poetry.
Yet a large chunk of the book - Part III or IV? - abruptly deviated from the journey we were being led on in respect of the lead up to and horror of the author's father's show decline into death. It inexplicably became a list of her travels, name dropping cities and foods and local flora, and then circled back around. This was never explained, and I found it lost the immersion for me somewhat.
But the poem about the loose stone walls and rolling hills of Yorkshire certainly resonated with me and my childhood memories of it. Gorgeously expressed and achingly real.
March 6, 2024
A haunting exploration of the grief and loss, in the moments leading up to and after the loss of her father.
“Apprehending the tremor of thunder
on a horizon they cannot see but feel.”
Having lost my father, this one hurt at times to read. With lines that sent me hurtling back into memories, of evening hours spent seated in a palliative care ward. Clinging to moments as if they were a life raft for the incoming darkness.
Grief has the ability to punch you in the gut, heedless of time. The Jaguar once again reminded me of the duality of love, particularly in memory.
Sarah Holland Batt’s The Jaguar is raw and exceptional.
“Apprehending the tremor of thunder
on a horizon they cannot see but feel.”
Having lost my father, this one hurt at times to read. With lines that sent me hurtling back into memories, of evening hours spent seated in a palliative care ward. Clinging to moments as if they were a life raft for the incoming darkness.
Grief has the ability to punch you in the gut, heedless of time. The Jaguar once again reminded me of the duality of love, particularly in memory.
Sarah Holland Batt’s The Jaguar is raw and exceptional.
May 2, 2023
A stunning collection of poems that you’ll want to re-read. The first section addresses her father’s illness & death and is honest, unflinching and beautiful. Other poems look at relationships & life in Italy, America, Morocco. I loved the feel of travelling, her ability to convey much with one or two observations & the clear language. Unshowy, elegant and fresh.
November 5, 2024
Accidentally borrowed a book of poems. So glad I did turns out I really enjoy being read poems, much more than reading them the old fashioned way, with my eyes 🤣
Transcends Australia, England, US, Mexico.
Transcends Australia, England, US, Mexico.
February 7, 2024
I really enjoyed this book I haven’t read poetry in a while.
September 26, 2025
Captivating.
December 26, 2023
4,5 🌟
I didn’t love every poem in this collection but some were just beautiful.
I didn’t love every poem in this collection but some were just beautiful.
July 25, 2023
Suchhhh beautifully tragic poetry, especially about her fathers Parkinson’s. The travelling poems felt very out of place but overall a lovely little book. Usually I’m not a fan of poetry but this changed my mind.
March 28, 2023
🎧 3.5 Stars ✨
May 5, 2023
Fantastic collection - the last one was my favourite.
June 14, 2023
‘I praise my hardness.
to it and it alone I say I do.’
to it and it alone I say I do.’
May 15, 2025
Easily could have finished this in one sitting, purely timing that took me as long as it did to polish this one off. Poetry is not normally my preferred medium, and although these were beautiful pieces, the fact remains unchanged. For something so intimate and personal, this feels a remarkably worldly work. Enjoyable and praiseworthy, well deserving of the awards it has won - perhaps just not my cup of tea.
May 7, 2023
Going from reading this to watching the fucking Mario movie was a whiplash so strong it nearly broke my neck.
Got totally blindsided by this book, amazing winner for the Stella Award, feels like an apology from them after giving that award to Dropkick (sorry, Dropbear) last year. Almost every poem connects to the central theme, some more lateral than others, but they're all so well-written and they all felt like they mattered. I got confused about some of the order of the poems but I could easily see this issue improving on a re-read. Love the concept and the authors place in the story (all the travelling was so well-expressed), for sure check it out, hope it can win the Miles Franklin as well!
Got totally blindsided by this book, amazing winner for the Stella Award, feels like an apology from them after giving that award to Dropkick (sorry, Dropbear) last year. Almost every poem connects to the central theme, some more lateral than others, but they're all so well-written and they all felt like they mattered. I got confused about some of the order of the poems but I could easily see this issue improving on a re-read. Love the concept and the authors place in the story (all the travelling was so well-expressed), for sure check it out, hope it can win the Miles Franklin as well!
May 24, 2023
5+ stars from me, nailed it. Bought this collection after seeing S H-B at Melb. Writers festival recently and hearing her talk about, and read, one of her poems from this book. Amazing use of language and describing situations/feelings/places/events so accurately and with so few words that they really touched me. Absolute bullseye. So many examples…..
‘and he’s gone again, eyes swivelling
through the morphine, rolling
in the mulberry velvet of it’ (p.12)
‘When it ended, he said I had never let him in -
as if I were a country club with a strict dress code..’ (p.64)
‘Pearls of condensation hang
from the clagged roof
like stop-motion rain.’ (p.104)
I loved it and will reread
‘and he’s gone again, eyes swivelling
through the morphine, rolling
in the mulberry velvet of it’ (p.12)
‘When it ended, he said I had never let him in -
as if I were a country club with a strict dress code..’ (p.64)
‘Pearls of condensation hang
from the clagged roof
like stop-motion rain.’ (p.104)
I loved it and will reread
March 16, 2023
Look at me immediately picking up another book of poetry! I already had this at home, after it was named The Australian's book of the year for 2022, and then it was long listed for the Stella prize last week. Too much Synchronicity to ignore.
And now I've read three books of poetry in my life! Who even am I?
I really enjoyed the first section dealing with her father's Parkinsons diagnosis, his 20 years of illness, his slow death. I enjoyed the rest of the book, but didn't understand it as well, and think I need to reread it. I would like to reread it.
3.5/4 stars?
And now I've read three books of poetry in my life! Who even am I?
I really enjoyed the first section dealing with her father's Parkinsons diagnosis, his 20 years of illness, his slow death. I enjoyed the rest of the book, but didn't understand it as well, and think I need to reread it. I would like to reread it.
3.5/4 stars?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews