Fall, Nigel Kent's latest pamphlet, eavesdrops on an affair that has devastating consequences for a marriage of ten years. This narrative sequence of poems forensically dissects the complex nature of love. There are moments of thrill and exhilaration, of course, but there are also moments of recklessness, delusion, guilt, shame, loss, despair, madness and more, all captured in authentic, profoundly human poems. Read and be moved.
"This is Nigel Kent at his best - taking a story and weaving it through delicious images. Within minutes I found myself completely immersed in this love affair and its consequences. As always, Kent's probing words take you to the heart of the relationship. Written in two parts, with the stage director interspersed between poems, the collection is breathtaking. The voices of the three characters are strong and each story conveys a deep-seated sadness. Highly recommended."
Kate Young, poet
"'The waste of a marriage dropped into bin bags by the back door' or a 'vast, inviting emptiness into which I stepped with arms stretched out like wings'. Nigel Kent's dramatization of the break-up of a marriage gives a voice to each of his protagonists while an omniscient narrator records the relentless flow of time, of a clock 'whose hands spin backwards to that moment which cannot be undone'. It is this 'moment' and its resulting guilt and depression which Kent depicts in searing detail. The poem has such a powerful emotional pull that I found myself with tears in my eyes when reading the final line. Nigel Kent's innovative and memorable account of an old, old story, will make you want to read it again, straight away."
Ellie Rees, poet
"This is no ordinary presentation of an extra-marital affair, but one seen through the eyes of all three parties involved. Nigel Kent explores in depth a whole plethora of emotions: collusion, euphoria, post-coital guilt, deception, regret and heartbreak, all painted with consummate skill and sensitivity. This is a masterful portrayal of deceit with its gut-wrenching exploration of the (often unseen) consequences of a seemingly harmless dalliance. I thoroughly recommend it. It is a must-have for every poetry lover's bookshelf, one to which you will return time and again."
Margaret Royall, poet/author
"Fall is an unusual and exciting collection. Nigel Kent enters the heads of three characters involved in the breakdown of a marriage with sympathy and understanding. He also uses short single stanza poems to set the scene and carry the narrative forward. This is a collection that is difficult to put down. His skill with rhythm, images and line endings ensures that it is pure poetry. "The clock hands sweep up time," is just one of many beautiful images which will stay with his readers long after they have finished the book."
Jenny Hamlett, poet
Nigel Kent is a Pushcart Prize nominated poet and reviewer who lives in rural Worcestershire.He is an active member of the Open University Poetry Society, managing its website and occasionally editing its workshop magazine.He has been shortlisted for several national competitions and his poetry has appeared in a wide range of anthologies and magazines.He is the author of Benchwarmers, Unmuted, Saudade, Psychopathogen, two poetry conversations with Sarah Thomson, (Thinking You Home and A Hostile Environment), all published by Hedgehog Poetry Press, and the self-published A Voice and A Vision and Paris Revisited, collaborations with photographer, Nick Browne. He has been shortlisted three times for the Saboteur Award for Reviewer of Literature.To find out more follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @kent_nj or visit his website: www.nigelkentpoet.wordpress.com
