Clueless Dogs

by Rhian Edwards

Brave and beautiful, this remarkable debut collection of poetry features the edgy, modern voice of an urban female. From poems of a fraught childhood in Bridgend, south Wales—where a sensitive child escapes through imaginative games—to works depicting student rivalries, damaged peers, and tense situations associated with teenage problems, this compilation matures with an underlying sweetness. Additional poems explore the sensual rapture of love and the clear-eyed realization of its inevitable disappointments.

Genres: Poetry

72 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 30, 2012

About the author

Rhian’s first collection of poems Clueless Dogs (Seren) is shortlisted for Wales Book of the Year 2013. It was also shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection 2012, while her pamphlet of poems Parade the Fib, (Tall-Lighthouse), was awarded the Poetry Book Society Choice for autumn 2008.

Rhian is the current winner of the John Tripp Award for Spoken Poetry, having won both the Judges and Audience award, which is the highest accolade for a performance poet in Wales.

Rhian’s poems have appeared in the Guardian, Times Literary Supplement, Poetry Review, Arete, the Spectator, Poetry London, Poetry Wales, Prague Revue, the London Magazine, Stand, Planet Magazine and the Lampeter Review.

Rhian is currently the first Writer in Residence at Aberystwyth Arts Centre from March to June 2013. She is also working again with Sculptor David Annand to compose a poem to be engraved into the new sculpture at Ynysawdre, further to their recent collaboration in Bridgend Town Centre.

Rhian is a poet and musician and has delivered over 300 stage, radio and festival performances world-wide. She lives in South Wales with her husband Blake and their dog Lola. They are expecting their first child.

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant, unsettling and darkly humorous collection, including a tour-de-force piece with an extended cannibalism metaphor. The author reads her work with a fierce, dramatic intensity that is not to be missed if the opportunity arises.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a problem with giving a lot of works five stars I’ll admit, but Clueless Dogs I believe truly deserves top marks. As a advocate for the disturbing and the creepy, Rhian Edwards’ collection of poems satisfy my craving for the depraved. Her pace, even in the longer poems, keeps you constantly on edge, especially the ones surrounding infidelity. Some of the poems are painful to read, some are oddly uplifting in their trueness to reality.

Rhian Edwards is a great voice for Welsh literature and collections such as Clueless Dogs will hopefully offer a resurgence in the nations canon.

[Tôpher Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a superb collection of poems. Bright, funny, serious and sensual. I was wonderstruck with enjoyment. These are all dazzlers and so is Rhian Edwards.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some I really loved, others i didn't get, but will be going back to reread at some stage.

[Jessica Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautiful and haunting collection of poetry where words echoed off the pages and entered my heart. I feel as though most of this poetry should be read out loud to feel the full effect of its lyrical sentences.

[Jennifer Machin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐