After the Covid haze had cleared a little, it was time for The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel. I have no idea about Tudor history so it was always a surprise when someone had their head chopped off, and half the time I had no idea which Thomas was which. But who cares, Mantel's characterisation is just so engrossing, and sentence by sentence the writing is magical.
The Confessions of Fanny Langton, by Sara Collins'
Mum always buys me good books for my birthday, and Sara Collins' The Confessions of Fanny Langton is a cracker. A Jamaican woman, daughter of a slave, ends up as a servant in 1820s London. We meet her on trial for murder, and the mystery unfolds in true gothic fashion.
Mary Ruefle, Selected Poems
I've just finished Mary Ruefle's Selected Poems. She's an American poet I hadn't read much of, but in the introduction to my book, my Canadian publisher drew a comparison between us, so I thought I'd better check her out!
I really enjoy the way she celebrates bodily realities, like this from her poem "Glory":
"…I want ordinary men and women, / brushing their teeth, to feel the ocean in their mouth…."
Jenny Bornholdt, Selected Poems
I returned to Jenny Bornholdt's Selected Poems this year and was just as moved by this quiet, powerful book as when I first read it. She makes me cry and feel lucky to be alive. Absolute soul food.
Kate Camp's How to be Happy Though Human: New and Selected Poems is on sale now. Photo / Supplied
How to Be Happy Though Human: New and Selected Poems, by Kate Camp (RRP $30) is out now.
