Silver Hare Tales by Lauren Thomas
Published by Blood Moon Poetry

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Review by Louise Mather

Silver Hare Tales has the precious aura of a love letter to a place, almost dreamlike in its reminiscence, conjuring a richly magical landscape; opening with “orange steel shadow, your sea-stripped blue-earth desert, red rust in your skin” (from To My Country); a fairy tale tethered to ancestry, anchored in elements, scattered with artifacts and adorned with talismans and mesmerizing rituals.

Silver Hare Tales takes the reader on a path of discovery, a sense of lifting a veil, from being a child, through adolescence to motherhood, Thomas captures memories and insight into environment and existence; the dialectics of nostalgia and grief, a beautiful world permeated with shadows, glimpsing the threshold; “Later, on sun-slipped mornings,
I lived on coastal glimmer inside salt-sharp haze. The blue jolt of new love on my tongue” (from the Silver Hare Tale poem).

This collection is aptly split into three parts: roots, marrow, and clay; the careful consideration of words and language utilized throughout brings to life a world of loam, earth, and orange light; a stunning setting for Silver Hare Tales and exploring the Celtic mythology behind the title, of fabled otherworldly creatures, allowing the reader to escape into this ethereal land and fall into their own memories and places they feel a pull towards. I have many favorite pieces, from The Drowners to the slightly more experimental format A Family History, evoking personal memories of trips to Wales, and I’m lucky enough to have the poem My Native Land, Goodnight featured on an exquisite postcard. A poignant and enchanting debut collection, Thomas masterfully crafts each piece with a breathtakingly original voice and delicate rhythm reflecting a deep connection to nature that lingers long after reading.

 

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has been published in various online and print publications including, most recently, Magma and Lighthouse. Her pamphlet Silver Hare Tales was published by Blood Moon Poetry in December 2021. She is currently studying the MA in Poetry writing (Twitter @poetryschool) London with Newcastle University.