Hazel Cope

NEWBORN and other poems Hazel Cope

So here's a simple wakeful dream:
That words will come into my head
Pass through my fingers
Dance on the page
Have grace and rhythm
Make sense and reason
And when someone reads them, make her think,
"Ah yes, that's how it is."

These lines, from "Dream a Poem," sum up Hazel Cope's approach to expressing life in verse. By turns joyfully playful and quietly meditative, her book, NEWBORN and Other Poems, reflects the endless variety, complexity, challenges, and glory of an eventful life lived long in the company of a wonderful family and friends.

There is something for every poetry afficionado in this collection, which plays with many different forms and styles. Themes range from life and death to the world around us and the art of writing poetry itself. Whimsical drawings and beautiful photographs taken by Cope's husband, Alan, add vibrance to the pages. Representing the culmination of twenty years' writing, Newborn is eclectic in its format and themes, but Cope weaves it all into cohesion with her distinctive narrative voice. Her insights, both sombre and sweet, will leave a lasting impression, and her wry observations will resonate with every reader.
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