Every so often the world of poetry throws up something that little bit special which rises above the crowd. So this proved to be when I recently attended a reading of poetry by the Poet Joy Winkler who treated the attendees to readings from her most recent publication ‘Stolen Rowan Berries’, a collection of poems themed around the topic of flowers. I’ve only just started reading the poems so I am not going to attempt a walk-through of them but as I dip into it on my bedside table I am already enthralled by the subject matter and not least the skill too.
Although the central binding theme might be flowers this is not simply a book about flowers, rather it reaches out to you about relationships, journeys, memories, experiences and a host of other aspects of life that immediately strike chords and there is a relevance to her poetry that pertains to perhaps all of us. At least this is my experience so far She allows us into her own world, her own life’s journey and there is something warming to encounter in ‘Mrs Hudson’s Garden’ when we can relish the child-like mischief of it, but also then tarry for a while upon the poking reality of an encounter with the loss of a young friend in ‘May Queen’.
I encounter many skilled poets on my own creative-writing journey but Joy Winkler writes in a way that involves me through poems that really are accessible in which I become involved as a reader very easily. Her poetry stimulates my own memories and I will be forever grateful for how this poet refreshed my childhood through the poem Morag’s Garden which had me cherishing my pets again, yet also cherishing and remembering other dear friends too.
So then, twenty four poems to be enjoyed and the book also contains delightful illustrations by artist Karen Rossart. I will enjoy this for a long time to come and it was a pleasure to hear Joy Winkler herself bring them to life. It is also worth a mention that in 2005 she was the Poet Laureate for Cheshire, England.
Stolen Rowan Berries by Joy Winkler. I.S.B.N 978-0-9930247-0-2
Publishers. Sharp Pencils Press. Macclesfield, Cheshire. U.K telephone 01625 612527
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