The Unwinding by Jackie Morris

Today on the blog I'm delighted to be indulging in my love of poetry, a break between crime thrillers. It's my stop on the blog tour for The Unwinding, a beautiful book of poetry and images from Jackie Morris. My thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for the invitation and to the publisher for my review copy.

The Blurb:

This book is not meant to be read from cover to cover. It is a book for dreamers. Slight of word, rich of image, its purpose is to ease the soul.

The paintings between these covers were worked in the between times, an unwinding of the soul, when the pressures of work were too much. Dreams and wishes are the inspiration at times like this. Threaded through the curious world of The Unwinding are words, slight and lyrical. Their aim is to set the reader’s mind adrift from the troubles of our times, into peaceful harbours where imagination can stretch, where quiet reflection can bring peace.

The Unwinding is designed to be a companion, a talisman to be turned to again and again and a place of respite from an increasingly frantic and complex world.

The Unwinding was published by Unbound on 9th July 2020 and is available from Hive, Waterstones, Amazon and all good booksellers.

My Review:

The Unwinding is a thing of beauty. Feast your eyes on the cover above - such a gorgeous, dreamy image.

This is not designed to be read all in one go. It is a 'pillow book' and the author had provided utterly charming instructions for use. There are fourteen chapters, each one a poem telling of dreams, whispers and beauty.

The author has designed The Unwinding as somewhere the reader can escape to, to take a breath, pause and be still. Maybe dream a while. And she has absolutely achieved this. The illustrations are rich and evocative, featuring bears, foxes, hares and so much more. They are magical and draw you in. I am drawn to something different in them every time I look.

The poems that accompany them are just beautiful, lyrical. There is nothing like poetry to stir your soul, and these words do that for me. They are beautiful in themselves and presented as they are with such wonderful artwork they are a feast for the eyes. I was transported away to a magical forest world full of dreams and love. Richly evocative.

I loved Morris's writing - she has a wonderful way with words. Nature features heavily in her verse - 'the music of moth wings', 'there was silence but for the sound of birds, The soft breath of hares, a stir of winter leaves.' and 'If I said that my love for you was like the spaces between the notes of a wren's song, would you understand?' That last one is taken from 'Truth: The Dreams of Bears' which is the poem that touched me most deeply. But they are all beautiful and expressive.

I am tempted to show you lots of pictures from the book but they really need to be discovered and savoured. I couldn't resist putting in a couple though.

The Unwinding is a beautiful little book, both to look at and to read. It is different to the poetry I normally read but I found it very appealing. I could feel myself calming as I read and the words took me to another place. This is a book I will return to time and time again as a respite from my busy life. It would make a wonderful gift too. A stunning, bewitching wee book.

The Author:

Jackie Morris is an author and illustrator. She studied illustration at Hereford College of Art and Bath Academy and has illustrated many books, and written some. The Lost Words, co-authored with Robert Macfarlane, won the Kate Greenaway Medal 2019.