Bird Song and Nectar in the Silences by Lopresti, 2024 Lisa NEUF

"Lisa Lopresti is a well-known and much loved Bristol poet. She frequently performed live before the Lockdowns and is a firm favourite of the BBC Radio Upload show with Adam Crowther. Her debut pamphlet is very welcome and is shows that her poems work just as well on the page as with her voice. Reading the pamphlet reminds me of going into a shop full of colourful, gauzy scarves with a variety of patterns. The poems are sensual, they sing with positivity although the pandemic is a presence in most of the work. Lisas particular skill is to present images which are beautiful but also surprising, with many references to the natural world. You Never Cry Alone is packed with delightful, visual imagery almost to the point of exaggeration and builds up to a poignant ending. She also has a wry and witty take on the world for example Virulence of Corvids can be read as a subtle analogy for the virus. The poems often take a surprising twist - Take the Stars - a poem about domestic contentment turns into a criticism of social media. The poems are detailed enough to feel grounded in personal experience but still keep a universal quality. They feel fresh. There are musical with subtle rhyme and word echoes. The title and the poem Rose Bombs refer to work by the Iranian musician Maya Youssef and the collection for fills its strapline of being poetry for how we are and how we will be."

- Pauline Sewards - Poet, Spirograph (Burning Eye)