If all the world and love were young - Stephen Sexton

A series of poems that merge Super Mario World with the story of the author’s mother being treated for, and ultimately passing from cancer. It’s a beautiful collection where each poem takes the title from a Super Mario stage. Contrasting the virtual world with the physical one is beautiful, and Sexton’s control and play with language is beautiful. It’s really interesting to see a whole collection of poems taking inspiration from video games and is something I hope we see more of.

5 things to steal

• Lifting structures from existing places
• Playing with words
• Finding unusual metaphors and digging down into them.
• Ekphrastic Writing that isn’t just responding to visual art but other places.
• Finding moments of joy despite sorrow.