More About The Song by Rachel Fox

Rachel Fox sets out her stall early in this delightful new poetry collection: “There’s nothing sacred about poetic form / You can get bored of imagery” she writes, “Worry less about the cleverness/ Worry more about the song”. This approach to poetry pays dividends throughout the collection. So while the rhyme schemes can be basic and the metre erratic, the poet’s enthusiasm shines through and each poem communicates very directly to the reader. And as the title of the collection suggests these poems often read like song lyrics, in the best sense. More About the Song is about all types of subjects, but in general it’s about modern life. So there are poems here about not wanting to hear Radiohead, waving at cars, leaving work, and weddings. It’s frequently clever, and frequently amusing. This is Rachel Fox’s first collection, though she’s previously sold some very appealing postcards with her poetry on them – if you can find it, the postcard with ‘Pluses and Minuses’ on it is highly recommended. This is not really the poetry collection to give poetry snobs – but it’s a fantastic collection to give someone who doesn’t quite get poetry, because it’s warm and welcoming. Very enjoyable, and very recommended. [Keir Hind]