No Map Could Show Them

by Helen Mort

The brillilant second collection from Next Generation Poet, T.S. Eliot and Costa shortlisted poet, Helen Mort.

'When we climb alone
en cordeé feminine,
we are magicians of the Alps -
we make the routes we follow
disappear.'

Helen Mort's riveting second collection is inspired by her two greatest mountaineering and running.

In odes to the young women who tramped the Alps in their skirts and petticoats, long hemlines and 'fashionable shoes', here are poems inspired by Miss Jemima Morrell, a young woman from Yorkshire, who was the first Victorian woman to scale the Swiss peaks. At the heart of the collection lies the breathtaking sequence 'Black Rocks', dedicated to Alison Hargreaves, the British climber who perished at the face of K2.

These are distinctive and unforgettable poems of passion and precipices, of edges and extremes. No Map Could Show Them confirms Helen's position as one of the finest young poets at work today.

Genres: Poetry

80 pages, Paperback

First published June 2, 2016

About the author

Helen Mort is a poet and author from Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Her collection Division Street was shortlisted for the Costa Prize and the T.S. Eliot Prize and won the Fenton Aldeburgh Prize in 2014. She was described by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy as "among the brightest stars in the sparkling new constellation of young British poets". She is a Cultural Fellow at the University of Leeds, and one of the judges for the 2017 Man Booker International Prize.
Adapted from: http://www.poetaflamenco.com/

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I adored Division Street, but the rest of Mort’s poetry is good… just not overly memorable. Loved the references to Sheffield (as always!).

[Rosamund Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection is themed around women mountaineers from the Victorian era to the present, though the poet touches on other subjects too. I love the idea behind this collection, but though I enjoyed the poems about different mountaineers, some of them did not explore their mountaineer in enough depth, and I wish Helen Mort had written more. The sequences, for this reason, worked best for me. My favourite is the last sequence, which is not about an individual mountaineer, but focuses on Everest. Mort uses language well, and has some fresh imagery, but some of her poems were too pared back for me. I feel like this collection needed just a little more lushness and vitality.

[Virginia Rand · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite liked Helen Mort's poetry because I usually understood what she was talking about and she discussed some really heady subjects. My favorite was Lil's answer.

[Stephanie]

Having read this gorgeous poem from the collection, I now really want to read the rest of it! And the few that I was able to read from the opening of the book (using Amazon's "look inside" feature) were equally wonderful.

[Neil Fulwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mort’s second collection is an admirably plain-spoken assemblage of poems preceding from a celebration of pioneering women mountaineers (Mort herself is a climber). A rugged sense of place is inhabited by a succession of strong, sometimes defiant personalities. A mordant sense of humour threads through the book.

[Miles Gould · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some very good poems (especially the ones about Alison Hargreaves), and some that didn't do much for me.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was in love with this from the beginning! I do think it was a case of right-book-right-time, but I would still have loved it, just perhaps I wouldn't make so much noise about it!

There is not a single poem in this collection that I did not like, just ones that resonated with me more. I also enjoyed the fact that I was learning about lesser known people in history and about social events I had not heard of. I do love learning!

Mort's writing isn't in-your-face lyrically beautiful, but each poem contains at least one line that is stunning. It is the atmosphere I wallowed in. She captures moments that I recognised, but had never been able to put into words before, and she does it so simply, while at the same time it isn't simple, it is thought over and that shows. I am not doing a good job of explaining this! It's earthy, gritty, moving, beautiful. I love it. Please read it.

Some of my absolute favourites: 'Mountain', 'The Fear', 'Scale', 'My Diet' and 'Difficult'. Special mention to 'Rope' - what a poem to end a collection on!

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Kinder Scout' is a perfect poem.

This is a very impressive collection, but that was my main takeaway. It made my gut do the thing.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poems about women and breaking new ground and climbing to the heights. I'd like to read more from Helen Mort.

[Joseph Spuckler · Rating 5 out of 5]

No Map Could Show Them by Helen Mort is the poet’s second collection of poetry. Mort has previously published Division Street which was shortlisted for the Costa and TS Eliot Prize and won the Fenton Aldeburgh Prize. She has released two smaller collections one for Derbyshire, where she served as poet laureate, and another called a Pint for the Ghosts. Mort also performs in Poeta with flamenco guitarist Samuel Moore (http://www.poetaflamenco.com/). Reminiscent of a modern day version of Patti Smith and Lenny Kaye at St. Mark's. She is a runner, climber, whippet lover, and recently a Greenland explorer.

Perhaps I am just getting older and a bit more conservative (in only my poetry). My background is in political science and not literature and I sometimes feel at a loss with prose poetry and the latest pop poetry of one or two lines, resembling a song lyric. I, by no means, prefer rhyming couplets, but I do like some form in my poetry. I did a quick glance through Mort’s latest collection and saw quatrains, cinquain, three line stanzas and possibly a sonnet. On the surface, it contained poetry in a traditional format. The introductory epigraph is complete with near rhymes that quickly disappear in the body of the work. What I saw as a sonnet at first was a line off and the stanzas, I soon came to realize, are not rhyming. It is traditional looking, but with a little rebellion present. Structure with freedom. The words, however, carry a great deal of meaning and beauty as in the poem “Ink” where the tattoo artist is scarring you elegantly.

Early on the poetry begins to personify the mountains -- sandstone chests, wedge for a breast, and a boulder for a belly. At the same time, the climber becomes part of the mountain with clothing of shale and lichen light gloves. There is a natural blurring of the boundaries between the two as the join. The poem “How to Dress” has the reader reflect back on the historical. One thinks of the early climbers in wool and canvas without the benefits of heated gloves, Gore-Tex, and light-weight equipment. What of the women climbers? The proper Victorian dress code for outdoors did not include pants and there was little in the way of women’s sized polar weather clothing. A bit of humor also resides in the writing that concerns “Bob.” For the experienced women climbers, Bob was the ancestor of today’s “mansplainer.” There is the wrong way to do things and the right (man’s) way of doing things and women shouldn’t be out in the first place. - It might get too cold or dangerous.

Mort pays tribute to several climbers and other role models. She pays a very touching tribute in several poems to Alison Hargreaves, the British climber who completed an unaided summit of Everest, soloed all the great north faces of the Alps in a single season-- a first for anyone, male or female. She, however, died in 1995 while descending the K2 Summit. Perhaps the most touching poem in the tribute is “Home” taken from a diary entry when Hargreaves was at home with a broken leg, unable to climb. Katherine Switzer’s 1967 Boston Marathon run is remembered as well as Derbyshire’s Tom Hulatt’s run. In a non-sports related poem Lillian Bilocca, a fishwife, took up the cause of maritime safety after the sinking of three fishing trawlers in 1968. Although successful in drawing attention and change, she was ridiculed, received death threats, and was blacklisted by the fishing industry.

As much as I appreciate Mort’s historic context in all her work she adds something more. Many times when poetry is written about a particular subject, the poetry suffers to center stage the subject. For example, Bicycle wheels spinning and pulse ticking in time to the cadence of the cranks. It’s bicycle poetry. It’s a bicycle enthusiast trying to write poetry. Mort doesn’t write climbing poetry; she writes poetry about climbing (among other things). The difference is who stars in the writing -- the poetry or the subject. Here it is the poetry that stars and uses the subject as its showcase. It all blends together perfectly as the collection finishes with a blaze of rapid-fire poems celebrating Everest; it is the poetic equivalent to a 4th of July fireworks finale. A brilliant collection.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book because of the concept: a collection of poems inspired by historic women mountaineers. From the publisher’s marketing, I thought the whole collection would center on these women; in truth only a handful of poems were about them, another handful were about climbing and mountaineers more broadly, another couple were about athletes/women pushing boundaries, and there were some that seemed unrelated to me.

My favorite poem from the collection was “Skirt,” a found poem based on a Wikipedia article about 1920s women’s fashion and an online forum about mini skirts. I also enjoyed “Ode to Bob,” inspired by an “imaginary character invented by women climbers tired of hearing unsolicited advice from male passerby.” But I was disappointed that the collection didn’t quite match up with the book’s description.

[Anne Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a thought-provoking collection, and a good proportion of the poems were stunning. I particularly enjoyed the themes of women and their relationship with the environment and nature, and also the hints of story behind the verse. It has to be said that one or two of the poems tended to meander, and the poet isn't quite sure what to do with longer verse. However, I will be looking for more of Helen Mort's work.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good solid poetry, introducing me to new people and events but accessibly.

Many of these poems are about climbing, some with local relevance, others real mountaineering. That the latter still gripped despite my general lack of knowledge or interest in the subject is testament.

Some I was coming to again from Mort's Derbyshire Laureateship - it was good to meet old friends.

[Holly Hunt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I respect and appreciate the history and the stories of these adventurous women. Poetry is just not my forte. I enjoyed the “Notes” section in the back of the book that described a bit about the poems and the women that inspired them.

[Juliana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Clear and to the point, Helen Mort’s writing created beautiful imageries. I can’t say this book was a memorable read for me, nor that I will be returning to it, but it was a great read.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Joe Avary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A refreshing collection. Many of the poems have to do with mountaineering and historical figures within the sport/activity.

But my favourites were about Big Lil at 17 stone

[Richard Sanderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this an extraordinary and powerful collection, full of imagery that made me gasp. Feminist mountaineering poetry may be a niche area, but, goodness, this is wonderful stuff.

[Mattea Gernentz · Rating 3 out of 5]

"And the clouds / over Derwent mended / and we were briefly glorious, / though neither of us had / built, would build a single thing" (47).

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helen Mort's writing feels like home.

[Moira McPartlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I borrowed this from my library's ebook selection to read while on a walking holiday. It was so good I bought my own copy when I got home.

[Jente · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Helena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hadde denne tredje året i Durham for eit fag, men fekk ikkje lese skikkeleg før no. Nokre ganske bra dikt, nokre var meir så som så

[✰matthew✰ · Rating 4 out of 5]

this collection was interesting reading not just about climbing but a number of other real life events too. the notes in the back of the book tell you about these events.

[Juliano · Rating 4 out of 5]

incredible collection of poems, 'No Map Could Show Them' by Helen Mort which, among other things, is about women and mountains. I especially liked 'Difficulty' and the 'Big Lil' sequence of poems.

[Jenna Gareis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished this poetry collection by Helen Mort. It explores the mountains we climb, geographically, emotionally, physically, and socially. 5/5⭐️s

Five things about No Map Could Show Them by Helen Mort

1. Many of these poems sent me down google rabbit trails looking for more context. I like that kind of inspiration in anything I read.
2. Rhyme pops up irregularly throughout the collection like the jarring ring of your doorbell when watching the tension mount in a horror movie. In a good way.
3. These poems are both windows and mirrors. They are prisms...catching light and throwing color but always with different results.
4. These poems are both accessible and challenging.
5. Each poem stands alone individually but together as a collective they stand stronger.

[J.S. Watts · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tightly worded and lyrical collection.