Skin Divers by Anne Michaels

1.    What was your favourite/least favourite poem? Why?

2.    Why do you think the book was divided into sections? Do the sections make sense?

3.    How did you feel about the collection overall? Did you like/dislike it? Why?

4.    Did you notice any particularly striking uses of simile/metaphor?

5.    Could you relate to the subject matter of the poems?

6.    Nature and natural themes feature quite strongly in this collection, how did you feel about the language and use of natural imagery? Did you like/dislike it? Was it too much?

7.    Did you notice any particular moods or feelings within the writing?

8.    Did you get much sense of the author or narrator from reading these poems?

9.    Did you notice any recurring themes and ideas within the collection? 

10. How did you feel about the title poem?

11.  In the poem Fontanelles there are quite a few references to different scientists and also to characters from classic literature, did you mind this? Did it exclude you from the text? Did it enhance your reading of it?

12. What did you think of the title poem? Did you like/dislike it? Why do you think it was the title poem?

Glossary:

Werner Karl Heisenberg – one of the pioneers of quantum mechanics. Awarded Nobel Prize in Physics in 1925. Considerable controversy surrounds his work on atomic research during World War II.

Jacques Lucien Monod – French biologist. One of the founders of molecular biology. Won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1965.

Jacques Loeb - German-born American physiologist and biologist.  Loeb was nominated many times for the Nobel Prize but never won. Loeb was able to cause the eggs of sea urchins to begin embryonic development without sperm.

Irène Joliot-Curie – daughter of Pierre and Marie Curie. Along with her husband, Joliot-Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1935 for their discovery of artificial radioactivity.

Kid by Simon Armitage

1. What was your favourite/least favourite poem? Why?
2.  How did you feel about the collection overall? Did you like/dislike it? Why?
3. Did you notice any particularly striking uses of simile/metaphor?
4. Could you relate to the subject matter of the poems?
5. How did you feel about the language used in the collection? Is it accessible?
6. There is quite a lot of humour in the collection – did you like/dislike this? Was it always successful?
7. There is a sequence about Robinson dotted through the collection, did you get a feeling as to the character of Robinson? What type of person was he? Do you think he is a type? Is he a character with universal attributes? Or is he perhaps based in part on the author?
8. There seems to be a sense of discontent within the collection – did you notice this? How did you feel about it? Did it seem to be related to one particular theme or was it more general?
9. Did you get much sense of the author or narrator from reading these poems?
10. Did you notice any recurring themes and ideas within the collection? 
11. How did you feel about the title poem?
12. What did you think was happening in the poem “Shrove Tuesday”?
13. Not the Furniture Game is a list poem – what is the cumulative effect of the statements in the list? What feeling do the statements give you about the character? Does the list give you a sense of the physical shape of the man an/or his emotional state? What effect do the final two stanzas have and would the poem be as effective without them? What sense did you get of the relationship between the he and the she in the poem?
14.  Who do you think the she is, who is referred to in “Lines though to have been Written…”?
15. What do you think is the mysterious thing that has happened in the poem “8 p.m. and Raining…”?
16. Eighteen Plays on Golfing as a Watchword pays homage to Wallace Stevens’ Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird, do you see any similarities between the poems (apart from the numbering and the title)? Is it a successful poem? Is it ironic?
17. What did you think of the final poem in the collection “About His Person”? Did the list draw a picture of the character that owned them? What do you think happened to the character? Does the poem say anything about what we value or the meaning of life? Did it make you think about what might be found on your person?
18. Do you think Armitage’s job, as a parole officer is evident as an influence in this collection?
19. Would you seek out more of the author's work?

Nil Nil by Don Paterson

1. What was your favourite/least favourite poem? Why?
2.  How did you feel about the collection overall? Did you like/dislike it? Why?
3. Did you notice any particularly striking uses of simile/metaphor?
4. Could you relate to the subject matter of the poems?
5. How did you feel about the language used?
6. Paterson uses some unusual words within the poems and as titles - would you have liked footnotes or a glossary? Did the lack of one affect your reading of the poems?
7. Quite a few of the poems were written in the sonnet form - did you feel that these were successful?
8. Did you get much sense of the author or narrator from reading these poems?
9. Did you notice any recurring themes and ideas within the collection? 
10. How did you feel about the title poem?
11. How did you feel about the attitude to women in this collection?
12.  Did the collection feel too long/too short/just right?
13. Would you seek out more of the author's work?

Useful glossary:

Exeunt - used as a stage direction to specify that all (or certain named) characters leave the stage.
Heliographer - A device for transmitting messages by reflecting sunlight.
Perigee - the point in the orbit of the moon or a satellite at which it is nearest to the earth.
Orchitis - inflammation of one or both of the testicles.

Obeah - a term used in the West Indies to refer to folk magic, sorcery, and religious practices developed among West African slaves, specifically of Igbo origin.

Citizen: An American Lyric - Claudia Rankine

1)   What were your overall impressions of the book? Did you like/dislike it? Why?

2)   What did you make of Rankine’s use of sections to divide up the book? Did they signal a change in subject matter? Did you think they were useful/necessary?

3)   The subject matter of the book is very emotive - how did the book make you feel as you were reading it? Did you have any physical/mental reactions? Was it a comfortable read?

4)   Do you think that Rankine dealt with the subject matter in a new or relevant way? Why?

5)   What did you think of the combination of prose and poetry? Was it effective? Did you like it? Did you want it to have more of one or the other?

6)   What did you think of the use of imagery within the book? How well does it work with text? What did you think of the layout? What message if any was it sending?

7)   Did you feel that book was relevant to you? Did it make you think about anything that had happened to you or anyone you know?

8)   Did you like the use of prose poetry? How do you think this fitted with the subject matter?

9)   Do you feel like the book has changed you or the way you think in any way?

Stag's Leap by Sharon Olds

1. How did you feel that Olds handled the subject matter of the collection? Did you feel it was handled lightly? Sensitively? Heavy-handedly?
2. Did you feel that she gave an accurate portrayal of a divorce?
3. Did the subject warrant a whole book?
4.   We are only hearing one voice in this collection – did you feel that it was too one-sided?
5.    How did you feel about Olds’ portrayal of her ex husband?
6. 6  How did you feel about the collection overall? Did you like/dislike it? Why?
7. What was your favourite/least favourite poem? Why?
8.  Did you notice any particularly striking use of simile or metaphor?
9. Would you read more of Olds’ work?
10.  Had you read this kind of ‘confessional’ style poetry before? What are your thoughts about this style of seemingly very personal writing?
11.   Did the collection feel too long/too short/just right?
12.  If you had a friend getting divorced would you share this book with them?

Electric Shadow by Heidi Williamson

1)      Did you notice any recurring themes and ideas within the collection?

2)      What was your favourite/least favourite poem? Why?

3)      Williamson was poet in residence at The Science Museum – was this evident in her work? If there were any scientific themes how do you feel that these work? Are they accessible to the general reader?

4)      Williamson’s writing tends to be quite spare – shortish poems, and a lot of white space around them – how do you feel about Williamson’s style? Are the poems successful? Did you want more?

5)      What did you think of the Matroyshka series – what do you think that the author was trying to achieve.

6)      Reviewers have talked about a thread or theme of light running through the collection – did you notice this?

7)      How did you feel about the collection overall? Did you enjoy it? Were there themes or ideas that you could connect with?

Homesick for the Earth, Poems by Jules Supervielle with versions by Moniza Alvi.

What did you think of the collection as a whole? Did you like it?

What was your favourite/least favourite poem? Why?

What do you think that the author is trying to say in the title poem?

Would you rather that the poems were straight translations, or do you think that they gain something from being versions?

Alvi explains in the introduction her reasons behind changing the forms of some of the poems. Did the fact that she had changed the forms bother you? Does it affect the integrity of the poems? Does it enhance them?

Will this book make you seek out other versions of Supervielle’s work? Or Moniza Alvi’s?

Did you notice any particular themes running through the collection?

Is there a sense of movement in the collection? Can you observe any kind of logical order?