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Gail Dendy’s work has been described as having a ‘magical realism’ in that it cunningly intersects realism with fantasy, myth, fables and fairytales. In the process, it strips away everything real from what we think of as ‘real’, thereby redefining and renegotiating the world in which we find ourselves. This collection reveals both technical versalitity and an inimitable individual style. Within this work, a procession of personae, characters and voices weave their presence, sometimes mysteriously and at other times overtly so that there is an overlapping of dialogue and monologue, of internal thoughts and external speech. At all times we are invited to observe, listen, empathise, weep, cry, laugh — and yet we must be on our guard, for at any moment the ground on which we stand is liable to be transformed by the flick of a nuance; the twist of a phrase.

This collection takes up numerous subjects and themes, often with surprising contrasts. There are the searingly poetical love poems and yet, too, there are poems of revenge, rage, and darkly misplaced desires. There are poems of innocence and childhood, and yet here we may suddenly encounter the spectre of physical disabilities, illness and death. Cats, rats, and fish are written about in a way that either startles us to the core or evokes in us a surprising tenderness. And there is humour — sometimes wicked, sometimes tongue-in-cheek, sometimes whimsical, and sometimes merely the sheer delight of manipulating the cogs and wheels of a poem as though one is opening it up to see how it works. There may be many voices within this collection, but the over-arching one is that of Dendy herself who uses her dancer’s innate sense of rhythm, control, structure and form to give effect to her writing. And yet, in the final analysis, control of the poetic experience is handed over to the reader for we are never told what to think, how to feel, or how to react. Rather, we are invited, like Alice, to step through a looking glass — to take a chance.

Author: Gail Dendy, English, NonArt.

Specifications: Soft cover, 209x132mm, 94pp
, ISBN: 978 0795 702488 .

Price (ZA) R

Keywords: Bookstore, Gail Dendy, Poetry, South African The Lady Missionary