books
January 2, 2026
The best recent poetry
The Bonfire Party by Sean O’Brien; Plastic by Matthew Rice; Retablo for a Door by Michelle Penn; Jonah and Me by John F Deane; Intimate Architecture by Tess Jolly
TL;DR
- O'Brien's collection covers history, war, death, desire, and uses a detective novel-inspired sequence.
- Rice's book-length poem depicts the struggles of a night worker in a plastic factory, exploring themes of labor and trauma.
- Penn's collection uses the retablo concept to examine female experience, defiance, and identity.
- Deane's poetry reflects Christian faith, nature, and the fragmented modern world, with a spiritual departure in the final poem.
- Jolly's collection explores the need for delicate boundaries in relationships, inner anxieties, and the fragility of the self, using vivid imagery.
Continue reading the original article