The Phoenix

The Phoenix is the latest poetry collection from Emma Steel, a Devon-born writer whose distinctive voice blends the lyrical and the unflinching. Drawing on memory, mythology, the natural world, and the sharp edges of modern life, these poems move fluidly between tenderness and darkness - from the fragile beauty of frost flowers and winter light to unflinching meditations on war, loss, shame, and survival. Steel's range is striking: one poem lingers over the quiet devotion of a sleeping cat, the next confronts the moral failures of a world that has turned conflict into entertainment.

What unites this eclectic collection is Steel's gift for imagery that feels both intimate and universal. Her poems speak to anyone who has loved imperfectly, grieved quietly, or searched for goodness in uncertain times. With a voice at once wry and compassionate, The Phoenix confirms Steel as a poet unafraid to sit with difficult truths - and equally unafraid to find beauty there.