The collection of a lifetime from the bestselling novelist, poet — and cultural phenomenon Before she became one of the world’s most important and loved novelists, Margaret Atwood was a poet. Dearly is her first collection in over a decade. It brings together many of her most recognisable and celebrated themes but distilled — from minutely perfect descriptions of the natural world to startlingly witty encounters with aliens, from pressing political issues to myth and legend. By turns moving, playful and wise, the poems gathered in Dearly are about absences and endings, ageing and retrospection, but also about gifts and renewals. They explore bodies and minds in flux, as well as the everyday objects and rituals that embed us in the present. Werewolves, sirens and dreams make their appearance, as do various forms of animal life and fragments of our damaged environment. Dearly is a pure Atwood delight, and long-term readers and new fans alike will treasure its insight, empathy and humour.
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These are the late poems.
Most poems are late
of course; too late,
like a letter sent by a sailor
that arrives after he’s drowned.
– LATE POEMS
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(Chatto & Windus, 1 January 2020, first edition, hardback, 114 pages, bought from AmazonUK)
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I’m a fan of the author but only read her fiction before I read Dearly. My copy is a first edition and the inside of the covers, back and front have a printed copy of a handwritten version of one of the poems in the collection, Passports. This is a nice touch. The collection is split into five sections. I really enjoyed re-reading this book. The poems are engaging, well-written and vivid and cover a range of themes. I enjoyed all of the poems. I especially liked Late Poems, Betrayal, Zombie, Table Settings and Flatline. I’d recommend this book.
4/5
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