As some of you may know, I write and perform the occasional piece of poetry. Some people have said that my poetry ‘stretches boundaries’ and ‘pushes the envelope’. This is the polite way for people to say, “What the hell was that, Ash?”
I don’t mind this reaction. I write poetry to get a response and this incredulity and outrage are the responses I seek.
Donna A Latham clearly understands the audience for her poetry because, in Compulsions, she has created some astute pieces of writing that manage to combine the warm anticipation of the erotic with the cold dread of horror. Her economical use of words allows the tension to build perfectly and, as readers, we don’t know if the conclusion is going to be what we most desire or what we most fear. These poems are intelligent, unsettling and beautifully composed. Well worth investigating.
ashleylister.com 