Lovely review on Amazon

Pig Nuts and Peacocks", a collection of poems by Anthea Simmons, arrived safe and sound in my letterbox some days ago. The poems number 24 in all, arranged according to a tacit seasonal cycle (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter), on a wide variety of natural topics. These include hens (her little Eiffel towers), foxes (they deserve and get four super poems; she likes them best, even if the hens and peacocks are catching up), peacocks, herons, trout, rabbits, pigs (she likes them quite a lot), geraniums, the moon, the four seasons, bracken, mud (two on that one!), owls, mares, and trees. Into the bargain, there are exquisite drawings by the poetess. Printed on high quality 70 lb white paper with a handmade paper cover.


So an excellent deal for your ducats.


Now for some impressions:


It is wonderful. The collection is worlds away from any hint of A Dorset Lass, grumbling about the land of lost content. Instead, it is brimming with little catapults of colour, that ping one into a state of good humour and love of nature. Ex-Batts made me laugh, as did Pig Roast. But the ones about foxes are best of all. Especially Fox Attack:


"The fox observes from the bracken 
Into which he, too, has vanished 
Like the hen. 
No men today. 
No tractor. 
No chainsaw.


Patience rewarded."


One just sees Him pause at each of the three full stops, thinking, full of cunning and craft and guile and calculation and intelligence. Before drawing his deadly conclusion. And the lovely line that follows, catching his litheness and coat perfectly:


"He scans the fields once more 
Then stretches his frame long and low 
Into the landscape 
Which Autumn has made his friend."


And I liked Tree Planting too, with its echo of Stevie Smith, having had the experience of putting in 400 trees in Normandy, and whacking the spade into the unsuspected cement winter underlay.


Anyway, the poems are so enjoyable. I cannot begin to convey what you must read first-hand to appreciate. A natural lyricism of wide-ranging sentiment.


In fact, they almost made me forget the beautiful drawings! Equally delightful. Absurd of me! 


The audio version is eagerly awaited. Poems of this quality read aloud are too good to miss. If a pig were reviewing, he'd say they were just pure apples! Foxes, however, are already travelling first-class to Dorset to obtain signed copies.