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23rd July, 2021

Friday Poem – ‘Boasting Sonnet’ by Katrina Naomi


This week’s Friday Poem is ‘Boasting Sonnet’ by Katrina Naomi from her collection Wild Persistence.

The cover of Wild Persistence shows a black and white image of three dancers dressed in 1940s style clothing, jumping in their air. They are in a circle facing each other with their arms outstretched and their toes pointed.

Wild Persistence by Katrina Naomi is a confident and persuasive collection of poems. Written following her move from London to Cornwall, it considers distance and closeness, and questions how to live. She dissects ‘dualism’ and arrival, sex and dance, a trip to Japan. The collection also includes a moving sequence of poems about the aftermath of an attempted rape.

“Funny, moving, surprising, unflinching and, above all else… joyous.” – Helen Mort

Boasting Sonnet I’m not one to brag but Sharon Olds wrote me a poem; me from a council estate. I’ve done handstands, on a skateboard, downhill yet failed both Maths and English O level. I’m still in love with the man I met at eighteen. I don’t believe in marriage but I once won an award for headbanging and chaired human rights talks at the UN. Expelled from school, I’m now a PhD. I don’t wear make-up, this is the real me unless I’m doing panto, in Cornish. I’m a qualified mountain leader. Wish you could see my scything and lindyhop. I’d say much more but sonnets make you stop.

Wild Persistence is available on the Seren website: £9.99

Create your free Seren account and enjoy 20% off every book you buy from us.

Watch Katrina read her poem ‘Poem in Which She Wears Her Favourite Wedding Dress’ on our Youtube channel:

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