REVIEW: Amy Kinsman - &

Full disclosure: I consider Amy Kinsman a friend. Further disclosure: I consider Amy Kinsman one of the brightest talents in the contemporary Northern poetry scene. “&,” their first solo publication, demonstrates a mastery over place and character, with a knack for intimacy that is at once universal and incredibly specific.

In the 17 poems within “&” Amy traverses terrain as diverse as identity politics, relationships, celebrity deaths and Greek myths, submersing the reader in each individually without a single line seeming out of place throughout the pamphlet.

Stand out highlights include the freeform “iterations of self,” a thirteen part poem addressing gender fluidity and the complications that raises within ones understanding of their own nature; contrasting lines like “they name you for love and the only thing you love is the sound of your own damn voice,” and “perhaps there is only one particle in all places at once. conclude that you were made in the dark,” lead to a cathartic final statement.

Whilst several of these poems, particularly including “editing her poems,” work spectacularly in a performance environment, pieces such as “descent,” see Amy playing with form and placement to weave a narrative that unfurls itself onto the page in a way that could not be replicated out-loud.

Amy Kinsman is a regular guest in the Manchester poetry scene, recently featuring at Evidently and Stirred. She runs Gorilla Poetry every third Monday at Gardener’s Rest in Sheffield.

#poetry #amykinsman