From Bedtime on

by Jean Gill

poetry; a wide range of subjects including adultery, divorce and motherhood;strong, fresh vivid poems

Jean Gill brings off the rare feat of looking life squarely in the eye without descending into dreary cynicism. She tackles a wide range of subjects including adultery, divorce, motherhood and anorexia - HS Milford Haven Journalist

Jean Gill's spiky humour makes you feel as if she's caught you on barbed wire and yet makes you smile about it - Mike Sharpe, Haverfordwest Journalist

An excellent collection - I enjoyed the sharpness and insight, the word-play... strong, fresh, vivid poems - Robert Nisbet, author

Genres: Poetry

40 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1996

About the author

Jean Gill is a Welsh writer and photographer living in the south of France with two scruffy dogs, a beehive named 'Endeavour', a Nikon D750 and a man. For many years, she taught English in Wales and was the first woman to be a secondary headteacher in Carmarthenshire. She is mother or stepmother to five children so life was hectic.

Publications are varied, including prize-winning poetry and novels, military history, translated books on dog training, and a cookery book on goat cheese. With Scottish parents, an English birthplace and French residence, she can usually support the winning team on most sporting occasions.

Sign up for Jean's newsletter at www.jeangill.com for updates and a free book. If you review one of Jean's books you can add a dog to Jean's Readers Dogs Hall of Fame on her website. Contact Jean at jean.gill@wanadoo.fr with comments or questions. She loves to hear from readers.

Reviews

[Suze Clarke-Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love poetry, but don't read nearly enough of it, so I was delighted to be able to read this, Jean Gill's second collection of poetry. Having enjoyed Jean's first book, With Double Blade, I was really looking forward to this one.

It didn't disappoint. Again, as with the first collection, there were some poems that really touched me, and others that I enjoyed, but didn't necessarily give me the feels. But I love the variety of subjects, and the openness and honesty of the author. I am in awe of her ability to take an everyday situation, an object or a news item, and then weave a personal experience into it. Wonderful.

I very much appreciated the stories behind the poems which were included, and found that some of them changed the way I viewed the corresponding poems. I read each poem, then its story, then the poem again. 'Alternative Medicine' is a good example where the story very much enhanced my reading of the poem.

Other poems I particularly enjoyed were 'Housewife: A Feminine Occupation', 'No News is Good News' and 'The Green Party'. But my two favourites were 'Eternity Ring' (maybe because I'm a hopeless romantic with self esteem issues!), and also 'Sensory Compensation' as I've had blind friends so it resonated with me. This last poem also contained my favourite lines from the whole collection:

'I would not give my eyes to tune pianos
But for one brightened night to read the raised points on your skin with blind man's fingers
I might.'

If you like your poetry sharp, contemporary and challenging, this collection is for you. Recommended.

[Sue Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was attracted first to this poetry collection by the cover and I am so glad that I was! At school Poetry escaped me, although I studied English, French and German poems. For me, I did not like being told what the poet had intended me to know and I did not have the experiences to enable me to engage with many of the topics covered by those classic poets. Now I see colour, feel emotion and hear sounds as my memory is triggered by the written word. As a mother of three, but the youngest a son, I felt tears fall as I read about the Creative Motherhood. I am crying as I remember holding my son and making up stories for me, and then as he grew, we would create stories together and songs of a fashion too. At 22 now, we still have that bond! The surprise when I started to read about Rupert and before the word was there in front of me, I had this vision of Rupert The Cavalier as a portrait.
To read through the poems and to be brought to this height of self awareness and emotion, I can only applaud the talent of Jean Gill. I want to thank her for sharing her thoughts and precious memories.

[Jessica Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute collection of poems

This is a very cute collections of poems that feature big items like war, politics and sexism but does in a way that people can relate to them more... especially mothers and women’s. Each poem is accompanied with a excerpt giving some background and additional insight into the poem. For some of the poems this really does add to the poem but to me not all needed extra explanation. This is a short easy read and is very entertaining.

I highly recommend everyone if anything you read the poem “housewife: a feminine occupation” it is amazing!!!

[Gina Clabo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved

I'm really not a poetry reader, although I do like some poems by different people. This book I really enjoyed I loved how Jean Gill gave you the meaning behind each poem she wrote..My favorite was And Grass will grow. I really like the simplicity behind them and yet the beauty she saw when she wrote them..I would like to think Jean Gill for the free book and the publishing company for exposing me to something I would not have normally read I truly enjoyed it..Recommend to all and to poetry lovers you will love..Gina Clabo

[Chris Tunnicliffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised at how readable and relatable this book was, poetry is not a genre I'm very familiar with.I loved the fact that the poems are mostly about ever day live and how some of the poems started with an every day event and then ended up being related to something different e.g The Green Party.
I liked the stories behind the poems section at the end,it's interesting to read seeing the thinking behind them.
I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to others.

[Sue Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

From bedtime on by Jean Gill.
A collection of poetry including
I tamed more tigers
Creative motherhood
The green party
Stored treasure
Where do you draw the line  and more.
Another absolutely fantastic read from Jean.
I've read a few of her books now and have loved every one of them. This is a must read.  Love how she writes.  5*. Would give more if I could.

[Amy Ingalls · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a giveaway. Like all poetry books, some of the poems resonated with me more than others. I am a mother and a teacher, so I liked those poems best. I really liked the format, being able to flip back to the story behind the poem, especially when she went into her thought process and explained how she decided on the format a poem would take.

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never usually choose poetry to read after being forced to read it at school so having the opportunity to read this was a rare experience for me. I enjoyed the format of the book with Jean's explanations about the poems available at the back of the book. I chose to read a poem, try to decifer it's meaning and then read her explanations. On some occasions I was close and on others I was so far off it was startling. As I know little about the doffering styles of poetry I found some easier to read and more enjoyable than others. Overall I enjoyed the variety of subject matter from seizures, to blindness, to green matters and much more, and found the book easy reading.

I received a complimentary copy through TBC Reviewer Request group on Facebook . These are my own opinions

[Jenny H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes moving, mostly amusing, always insightful, I thoroughly enjoyed this retrospective collection of poetry from the 1980s-90s and the stories included about each one. These are pithy poems made from the minutiae of life, from how to make a child eat his greens in 'The Green Party' to the chaos of Christmas shopping ('Liberty's Department Store, London'), along with more serious subjects such as epilepsy and amusing takes on moments in history ('And the Rest was Pre-History'). All teachers will empathise with 'A Teacher's Resignation' but there is a gem or two here for everyone.

A collection to dip into time and time again.

[Reece · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely book of poetry, with added explanations - delightful, fun and a nice easy read. Subjects covering many walks of life and situations, from the seriousness of epilepsy to encouraging children to eat healthily, history (1066 and Joan of Arc), Christmas shopping, etc., etc. Lots of quirky and amusing lines, with each story explained. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute, and would definitely recommend Jean Gill's book.

[Kel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a total break away with regards to genre for me as I haven't read poetry for years, but I loved the cover and have read other books by Jean Gill.

It took me a couple of poems to get to grips with reading a different genre but I did enjoy the change and it was nice to read something totally different. I enjoyed the variety within the collection and the subjects covered and that I could dip in and out of it when I fancied something different as it was an easy going read.

[Krista · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won a free kindle version of From Bedtime On through a Goodreads giveaway (thank you, thank you!). Something about this collection, just didn't click with me for some reason. However, I appreciate that the stories behind the poetry was included; I often think this is valuable information that can be used to better understand the poem and the author herself.

[TheReadingCornerforAll Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read a poetry book that has captivated me as much as From Bedtime On in a very long time! Loved the cleverness and humor in Jean Gills work.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Witty loved it!

Witty collection of short poems each containing an excerpt. I found this to be a nice little read. My favorite being a poem about dried plants and dead bees . I always like a good work of poetry any day and this one I feel added to life. I love the authors that make me smile when I read their prose and that I can connect with the written word.

[Tamara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea.

[Ashley Dyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetry with bite

A varied and interesting collection, many with a feminist theme. Jean Gill uses a range of poetic form to write poetry with bite.

[Theresa Wade · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good collection of poems. Very entertaining.