Real Lear - Claire Crowther

"Crowther writes about this world, this country and this era with such accuracy and honesty you find yourself wrapped up in the mystic and otherly vision without question. For me the work sits with the Modernists in its uncompromising ambition, commitment to experiment and dignity of focus, but her voice is consistently contemporary, poised and original. There is always a fascinating psychological turn, an insight unearthed via science or history or theology. A Selected should always be a 'greatest hits' of sorts, but it's rare to read a curation of such powerful coherence, drawing poems from the last fifteen years into a gathering momentum. Curious, beautiful and melancholy; a celebration of her work so far and the best starting point for new readers." -Luke Kennard