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The Hungry Ghost Festival

The Hungry Ghost Festival concerns misremembered and strange things. It's about girls praying to The Angel of the North. It's about a mermaid born in the river Tyne. It's about Chinese lanterns, teenagers at the beach, and a family who run a sacred farm.

..You pick my arms up and spread them out

so we are matching. Our woollen scarves

touch our noses — catch our breath

like cloth balloons. We dig our feet into the soil

and stamp down into the very deep.

Somewhere below, the river sleeps with a lady

screeching. She has arms that could carry boulders

to the edge of cliffs. We wait for her

to throw us down...'

(extract from 'angel metal')

"This is an arresting collection from a writer fully in command of an unusual and significant voice.” Anna Woodford

“These are poems full of wonder and surprise.. Jen Campbell tells us stories about growing up...; reimagining love, childhood and home in strange and magical ways.” Liz Berry

“Jen Campbell opens the doors wide and takes you through to her own fierce world where nothing goes unquestioned. A mixture of strong filmic images and rich language mean that the poems always keep their sense of wonder and strength.” Sarah Salway

"The writing is luminous, immediate, and (yes) magical. I imagine she fell in love with words early, spinning them into shining nets to save herself from a kind of drowning. She’s a real poet, in other words." — Marcia Menter

  • Format
  • paperback
  • Pages
  • 32
  • Language
  • english
  • ISBN
  • 9780955127397
  • Genres
  • poetry, fiction, adult
  • Release date
  • 2012