Shine, Darling

by Ella Frears

Ella Frears’s debut is a collection of wry, vivid poems whose power lies in their intimacy. They are as insistent as they are circumspect, drawing close to the reader’s ear and bringing them into confidence. The engine of Shine, Darling is one of strength, of fortitude in confronting and surviving the world, of a lifted-chin audacity – ‘There was pain,’ the speaker allows, ‘but it was not new pain.’ Frears’s work is world-weathered rather than world-weary, delighted by service stations, fucking on bins in Cornwall, in constant communion with the moon. It lives for the power-play of people, of the pull of the sea, the smoky air – ‘Stormy, sticky with flies’ – and tangled underbrush where the land ends. Her characters test each other, experimenting with the boundaries of physical violence, of punishment, of traps, all the while drawing the reader into a complicity that gives these poems all their daring, electrifying muscularity. In Shine, Darling, the desire to expose and disclose wrestles with defence and defiance. The result is exhilarating, a ‘glorious full-bodied’ debut collection with the draw of an adamant tide.



‘Uncompromising, intelligent, surprising, accessible and sharp … These lyric poems have a clarity and straightforwardness that only a special kind of attention, and a certain kind of fearlessness can achieve.’ – Mark Waldron

Genres: Poetry

81 pages, Paperback

Published April 16, 2020

Reviews

[Serge ♆ Neptune · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the screenshot of a porn actress, with her face covered by a rose, to the last line of the acknowledgements where the author defines her partner 'an absolute snack', this whole collection is permeated with a quirky cheekiness that I love. It is lots of fun. And a bit sad. But mostly fun.

Favourites: Magical Thinking (I), Joan of Arc is Haunting Us, Phases of the Moon / Things I've Done, These are my Lovers, Everybody Has to Wee, You a poet researching Naum Gabo, Whenever You See a Tall Glass Building, After the Lie Donald Came in a Vision to Donald, Elegy for the Cassini Spacecraft, Sermon (for the burial of Cassini)

[Alycia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the beginning of this collection so absorbing -- the language, the tone. I can only really describe it as a kind of smoothness, each line cascading nicely into the next, moving between meditative statement and imagery. That was probably my favourite thing about it, when the author's (speaker's) stated desire/thoughts unfolded amidst a sprawling illustration of laces or moonlight or Cornwall. The long sequence in the middle was captivating: the build of it, the scenery, the fear and relief, the narrative. Love. I think the last third of the collection felt most displaced to me. I liked the cento a lot, and I think the poems were individually wonderful, but they felt so much more ... exterior? in comparison to the rest of the collection. Overall though, I really enjoyed this read and it inspired my own writing.

[Alex George · Rating 4 out of 5]

good poems imo. mentions the moon a lot but just about gets away with it.

[Mia Fulford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this all in one sitting because I just thought it was some of the most lush stuff ever. A lot of these poems are rooted in Cornwall and Devon (which would have me set, anyway) and really pinpoint the sensory experience/ dissonance of these places. The poems spoke to my own experience of growing up in these strange, ancient-feeling, rural areas which can feel so removed from everywhere else. Frears evokes old sailors, weird seaside towns, even the texture and feeling of the mud, and then explores how girls grow up and fit around that environment.

That said, you definitely don't need be from the South West to enjoy these poems. Some great ones are:

- Joan of Arc is Haunting Us: "She knows how glass shivers before the rock is thrown, / how pipes hiss like snakes at one another."
- F*cking in Cornwall: "Like the gorse has caught fire across the moors and you / are the ghost of a fisherman who always hated land."
- Everybody Has To Wee: "By the stream, I stung my bottom on a nettle / The pagans wept."
- Phases of the Moon / Things That I Have Done: "I buried a pork-chop in the garden, walked backwards, howled."
- Barbara Writes to the Reverend
- You, a Teenager,
- There is also a long narrative poem in this which was just amazing

[Harriet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a gorgeous little book of poetry!! Themes of women’s bodies, guilt, death, art, liminal spaces and women’s safety/fear explored in such unique and individualistic ways. Edge of comic to it too, and I loved the Cornwall references. Dog-eared many poems to return to!!

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 - Some poems were 5 stars to me and some were 2/3. I found a few playful to the point of being almost twee, but that's just a personal taste thing. Elsewhere, I really liked the playfulness and juxtaposition. The real standout for me was, 'Passivity, Electricity, Acclivity'. A fabulous collection of modern poetry overall.

[Harmony]

ella! fucking! frears!

[Steven Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The ground was dirty with dirt” lol

[Juliano · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Or maybe it wasn’t like / that. Maybe the important part was the nakedness of the text, // which is a text I continue to send”... Shine, Darling, the luminous and acclaimed debut collection from Ella Frears, is a full body shiver in book form, both constantly delightful and ceaselessly unnerving. The poems are sexy and fun and hilarious, ever treading the line between vibrant heights and the pits of darkness. ‘Midpoint’ opens with the relatable declaration that “I’m an inconsolable piglet / rooting for lumps in the snow”, a defining moment of Frears’ wit and audacious observational knack. From ‘The (Little) Death of the Author’ to ‘Fucking in Cornwall’, Frears’ poems are often sexy bolts of brilliance, cutting through to the heart of desire, making such meaning from the everyday act of wanting. But it’s Frears’ viciousness that lingers longest, a palpable sense of menace and unbridled feeling: “I decide, that in those moments / that I want to hurt you, / it’s a lightning bolt I’d like to send, / not an undertow.” A definitive poetry collection of 2020, cementing Frears as a crucial emerging voice in the poetry world.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Ella Frears debut poetry collection and it is rather marvellous.

There. What more do you need to know?

"maybe there is always someone watching
maybe there is always someone to tell you
that your heart is broken

no matter how whole you feel
beside the bins
and under the stars."
(from Passivity, Electricity, Acclivity)

This is an intimate collection. There's a real feeling that Frears is opening herself up for us the readers, but maybe I'm reading too much into it. Maybe it is nothing but a complicated word game.

There are some genuinely funny things in here too, 'You a St. Ives Modernist' being a particularly good example. Plus any poetry collection featuring a poem called 'Fucking in Cornwall' is going to get my vote. Perhaps I am easily pleased by simple swearing?

Anyway, you should read it. I'd like to think you'll thank me for it one day.

[Darcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you remember what it felt like to dig a hole all day with a plastic spade just to watch it fill with sea
You are the ghost of a fisherman who always hated land
She knows that pain forms in the mind like frost
I wonder if there’s anything left to be interested in
How many humans in the history of humans have been made to feel like God by a swarm of ants?

Start better than end
Captivating
Inspired a lot of my own writing
Book from Tate,, felt special
Cornwall <3
:)

[Patrick Hartley · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Shine, Darling" is a vibrant and moving collection that showcases Ella Frears' talent for weaving together personal and universal themes. Her ability to evoke emotion and provoke thought makes this collection a worthwhile read for anyone looking to explore the depths of the human experience through poetry. Whether you're seeking inspiration or introspection, Frears’ words are sure to leave an impact.

[Apina_lukee_kirjoja · Rating 4 out of 5]

This made me think of living between the pressure of men and one's own body and what that gives to one's way of looking at the world (not in a negative way); and of love.

Also feelings of joy and success, something exhilarating; and intelligence.

[DwijoG · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my. What a great first collection! Very excited to read more in the future from her. So many great short poems here but for me - Fucking in Cornwall and the untitled passage in the second section stood above the rest.

[Rain M.J. Eden · Rating 5 out of 5]

i really enjoyed this body of work. i wrote several of its poems on my bedroom walls the year i was twenty and they made incredibly good company. the poem “becoming moss” still lives within me on most days, and i could recite it though never having practiced. incredibly impactful work!

[Elle K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love love LOVE passivity, electricity, acclivity

Big fat honourable mentions to The (Little) Death of the Author and Walking Home One Night.

The problem (and not-problem) w poetry is it is very personal.

[Tôpher Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s really impressive how this poet continually surprises the reader, wrong footing them with just one terrific poem after another. Witty, sharp, beautiful and fabulously wayward in all the right ways.

[Hannah Hodgson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first and second sections were breathtaking. The third felt a little displaced. I loved the majority of this book - a stunning debut!

[Harry · Rating 5 out of 5]

never have my niches been more seen with service stations (exe and fleet), greenwich park, cornwall and specifically modernism in st ives. what a joy!!!

[Mark Sexton · Rating 4 out of 5]

It takes a little while to settle, but pivots around the genius long poem Passivity, electricity, acclivity then really gets into its stride.

[Charlotte Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.5

[Zeynep Almis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading the first section, beautifully written.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half was 5 stars - lovely engaging lush poems. Second half I didn’t connect as well.

[s · Rating 5 out of 5]

“And then I heard a body being struck with an object. I knew it was a body and not a thing by the way the other sounds bent around it.”

[Vatsala Tibrewalla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this raw and rebellious collection of poems. Equal parts dark and hopeful!

[Jonathan Budd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best poetry I've read in ages. Really connected.

[Madeline Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

lovely collection, particularly the middle-section long poem "passivity, electricity, acclivity" is where it convinced me. gotta love a recurring moon theme that this book certainly had

[Rob M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very horny, in an elegant way.

[Emily Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.7, so many incredible poems I couldn’t earmark them all as I’d already tagged the one before. Womanhood and childhood and the fear and just so tenderly written. Love.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

i never got to finish this because i was reading finlay's copy when i was living in edinburgh and returned it to him before i left :')