ACHUKA Book of the Day 2 Sep 2021

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A new collection of some 50 poems (only  7 of which have previously appeared) by one of the best poets writing today is certainly something to say Hey! about. In a short introduction, Rooney reflects on a 4-line poem written when she was just 13 following a rooftop adventure. The four-line fragment opens the collection and Rooney writes: “It was the last poem I wrote as a child. And it was many years before I returned to reading or writing poetry. But thinking back, I wish I’d carried on. Poetry might have helped me navigate some of the highs and lows that every teenager experiences. And more specifically, the experiences of an undiagnosed autistic girl.”

I’ve always liked Rooney’s work for its spareness and lack of gush. At times it reminds me of Emily Dickinson, as in the opening lines of ‘Yew’:

Before, a redwing left a berried branch
and carried off the fruit that tasted sweet

Is she a children’s poet? I prefer to think of her as a poet whose work can speak to children and young adults, but can also be fully appreciated on its own terms by readers of any age. There are a couple of poems here that teachers will find useful. ‘Idea’, which begins

My head is kinda empty
like a bucket with a hole,
or a vault that stored the money
that a nifty burglar stole

is a clever demonstration of how it’s possible to get past the “I don’t know what to write” roadblock.

‘Punctuation’ is a brilliant aide-memoire that could be pinned to the classroom wall.

Rooney’s poems are always well-formed, even when they are not following a strict pattern, but I think I like it best when her command of rhythm and rhyme is fully on display. ‘Mask’ and ‘Worry Doll’ are cases in point:

I had a little worry doll with peg-legs made of wood.
I bound her up in woollen thread as tightly as I could.

A strip of tablecloth was cut to fix the skirt of lace.
Carefully, in felt-tip pen, I fashioned her a face.

And there is the superb 64 Squares with its clever 3-line format and repeated refrain:

A game? A sport? To me, it’s simply stress.
I’d rather Scrabble or Articulate.
Perhaps that’s why my love-life is a mess.

The black-and-white illustration accompanying this poem shows a small figure dwarfed by a giant Knight, a fallen King-piece by her side.

I gently tip my tired king to rest
and stop the clock. I’m choosing not to date.
I’ll never understand the rules of chess.
Perhaps that’s why my love-life is a mess.

The collection’s final poem, ‘Credit’, begins

At the end of the movie she walks a dirt track,
disappears in a heat-haze without looking back.

Rooney has threatened that this may be her final collection. Is it believable that such a fine poet can decide to silence herself? I hope not.

The illustrator, Milo Hartnoll, is an artist and founder of the art-collective Cane-Yo.
Follow him on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milohartnoll/