This is what the Winter Poetry Book Society Bulletin has to say about Hannah & the Monk …
Julia Bird’s first collection is remarkably self-assured with a gorgeous economy of style. She is able to create her self-contained poetic worlds instantly, completely – not a word is wasted by this poet who could be compared to her ‘beetle’ in ‘Monoglutton’ (‘this little beetle persists / He’s a linguist, a specialist’). Her ‘Short Film’ poems are far better than anything produced by prose writers in the craze for short short stories (and incidentally the perfect response to anyone who asks you what the difference between poetry and prose really is). Her poems are absorbing, endearing – not even a non-smoker could fail to be moved by ‘I Really Should Quit, But’, and the town-bred will still laugh at ‘Five Years Trying to Win the Flower Show Vegetable Animal Class.’ A hugely enjoyable book, and we look forward to more from Ms Bird in the future.
