On Monday, I received a contributors’ copy of Swings and Roundabouts: Poems on Parenthood, edited by Emma Neale, with photography by Mark Smith. As I am a contributor, I’m not going to review it, and indeed I’ve read only about a quarter of it so far: but here are four first impressions.
First, the book looks really good, and feels good in the hand.
Second, it doesn’t just contain New Zealand poems: there are a number of Australian poets represented, as well as international heavy hitters (NB: not in the smacking sense!) such as Sylvia Plath and Seamus Heaney.
Third, although being a parent isn’t always lovely, there are some poems in the book that radiate parental love – and others that don’t flinch from the difficulties.
Fourth, what a great idea for a book! I think a lot of people are going to love it. I think I will be among them.
