With Double Blade

by Jean Gill

Strong, fresh, vivid poems from award-winning author Jean Gill, on an astounding range of subjects including adultery, AIDS and the Mexican Earthquake. If you crossed Wendy Cope’s work with Sylvia Plath’s, Jean Gill’s poetry might be the result.

‘You’re starting to smother me, darling,
you’re faded and boring, my dear.
It’s my turn to play with another
and your turn alone with your fear.’

Divided into two parts, this new edition includes the stories behind the poetry, some personal and some on world events; always surprising.

Genres: Poetry

80 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Jean Gill is a Welsh writer and photographer living in the south of France with two scruffy dogs, a beehive named 'Endeavour', a Nikon D750 and a man. For many years, she taught English in Wales and was the first woman to be a secondary headteacher in Carmarthenshire. She is mother or stepmother to five children so life was hectic.

Publications are varied, including prize-winning poetry and novels, military history, translated books on dog training, and a cookery book on goat cheese. With Scottish parents, an English birthplace and French residence, she can usually support the winning team on most sporting occasions.

Sign up for Jean's newsletter at www.jeangill.com for updates and a free book. If you review one of Jean's books you can add a dog to Jean's Readers Dogs Hall of Fame on her website. Contact Jean at jean.gill@wanadoo.fr with comments or questions. She loves to hear from readers.

Reviews

[Suze Clarke-Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first poetry book I have ever written a review for, and it's really hard! Reading poetry is such a personal, subjective experience, more so than when reading a novel, I think.

There were some poems in this collection that touched me, some I really enjoyed, and some that I wasn't so keen on. And that's fine. I very much appreciated how honest and open the author is, and how her experiences shape her work. There is a little story behind each poem included, and they were invaluable. I read each poem, then the story behind it, then the poem again. And often the second reading of the poem would be profoundly different from the first, because I know the story behind it. 'After The Mexican Earthquake, 1985' was a good example of this, and became one of my favourites in this collection.

I also enjoyed 'Birthday Present For My Father', 'Equality' and 'The Three Wise Monkeys', amongst others. My least favourite were the Arthurian ones - they are well written, but just didn't speak to me.

I write the occasional poem, but struggle to write about anything other than what I feel or have felt, e.g.love, loss, sadness etc, so it can get repetitive. I can't look at a tree and write a poem. So I was interested in and inspired by Ms Gill's ability to intertwine her own feelings with something external, an Aran and it a new item, for example.

One teeny tiny niggle - I would have liked the story behind each poem to follow immediately after the relevant poem, to save me jumping backwards and forwards on my device. But that's just a little thing.

A cracking collection.

[Chantelle Atkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit I do not read a lot of poetry. I chose this book as I am taking part in a reading challenge which requires a book of poetry to be read. I was drawn in by the vibrant front cover and the title. I didn't really know what to expect but ended up reading this book in one sitting, mostly with a big smile on my face. There were many gems in here. My absolute favourite was Never Forget Your Welsh. I enjoyed the varied subject matter, from love and marriage, motherhood, death, loss and feminism. I particularly enjoyed the links to the stories explaining the poems. I dipped back and forth, sometimes reading the poem first, followed by the inspiration for it, and sometimes the other way around. The author has a sharp wit and confidence that I really admired. I went on to read more about the author and her other work, and on the strength of these poems, I purchased her YA novel Left Out. I'm a big YA fan and really hope I will enjoy this novel as much as this book of poetry. Well worth a read!

[Cynthia · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author included at the end of the book.... 'explanations/meanings' behind each of the poems....& that was the 'saving grace' for me (& my review!) I found most of the poems hard to understand, & I found, even the 'explanations', sometimes puzzling! Poetry isn't my genre at all, so maybe my review should be taken with 'a grain of salt!' It didn't turn me off from continuing to occasionally try out a book of poetry tho, so there is that!
I won this e-book in a Goodreads First Reads Giveaway program, in return for my own unbiased, fair & honest review.

[Sue Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

with double Blade by Jean gill.
a collection of vivid poetry.
This was a lovely refreshing read. loved it. 5*.

[Alison (The Lowrey Library) · Rating 2 out of 5]

*I received this from a Goodreads giveaway*

Some of these poems were really witty, and I enjoyed them. However, most I found difficult to understand, and I failed to find a connecting link between the poems in this collection. I thought the idea of providing the story behind the poems was charming, but not enough so to make up for the general bewilderment I had while reading.

[L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

With Double Blade definitely has its moments of wit, but overall I felt like the poet was being a bit self-congratulatory with her intellect. I admire that she likes double-meaning and word play, but I felt like it was too much at sometimes and made the poems' meaning jumbled. I quite enjoyed her poet's notes in the back, but I also feel like if you need a detailed note to explain your poems to your audience before they get meaning out of them, then that's perhaps problematic. I'd like to read an autobiography from her, however, as she seems very interesting. My favorite poem in the collection is "Never Forget Your Welsh."

He left.
Hanging over gates at dusk, in groups, the men
scuff hobnail boots and kick the silence dead.

She excels when she is at her most acidic. I think upon a second reading, I would've like the Arthurian-inspired poems a bit more. However, in a first reading, her words were dense and not that lyrical (except for the few rhyming poems she had), she it made my mind trip up or stutter-step while reading, which didn't make the experience of reading all that enjoyable. That may not be the point of poetry, though. I also don't have some of the necessary cultural background to understand all her references (she's a Welsh woman who wrote these in the 1980s, and I am a '90s kid from the States).

With Double Blade includes themes like feminism, young marriage, divorce, love/desire, and heartache. I received this book as part of the Goodreads giveaway program. Thank you to the author, Jean Gill, for providing a Kindle copy.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't read a lot of poetry but I know what I like when I do and I loved this book. Perhaps its because I am a woman of similar age and background to the author, but I found her poems resonated with me. I also loved her short contextual comments, not so much explaining her poems but giving a commentary on her frame of mind and where she was in her life's journey when she wrote them. For me that really added to the enjoyment. This is a an interesting and enjoyable collection I will continue to dip in and out of.

[Victoria Zieger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway. I really liked the tone that the author used in the poetry. Each poem was unique and thought provoking. Some of it seemed a little bit rushed or not fully together. And I almost didn’t like the explanations at the end because with poetry, I like to think about it and not be told what it is directly about or how to think. Overall, fun poetry and good writing!

[Susan Molloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

📖~CAVEAT LECTOR: There may be spoilers in my following review. ~




What wit! What honesty! What a refreshing view on the world, too.

[KarnagesMistress]

I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways. It is a Kindle book.

[Clipinchick]

I received this book for free from the author/publisher in response for an honest review of the book. I have not had the opportunity to read this book at this time. I will add my
review of this book once I have read the book. Thank k you for allowing me the optometrist review your work. I look forward to reading this book.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a Kindle book for free through a Goodreads giveaway. While the poetry in this book isn't badly written, it simply wasn't my style and I couldn't get into the words or flow. The cover art excited me but I tend to like more slam style poetry, poems that evoke emotion and imagery. These poems are more more...light-heartef, in a sense. It's hard for me to describe.