PALEWELL PRESS

Alison Lock's new collection, Thrift, grows out of a ‘communing in slow grief’ for the Earth and its vanishing creatures – an experience as painful as any personal bereavement. The collection’s poems are grouped into three sections: Rue, Thrift and Sage – herbal names that lead readers on a spiritual journey from despair through learning to be more frugal and sustainable to a new wisdom and potentially more hopeful future.

Thrift launched on 24th March 2024 at the Carlile Institute in Meltham, West Yorkshire. You can place an order for £11.00 (excluding postage) from this page or from Amazon and other online stores.

Review by Dr. Matthew M. C. Smith, editor of Black Bough Poetry:

The Black Bough book of the month for February/ March 2025 is Alison Lock’s Thrift, published by Palewell Press (2024). ​Alison Lock is a widely-published poet, based in North Wales, having been born in Devon and lived in West Yorkshire for decades. Alison has been featured on BBC Radio in the past and her work can be read in publications, such as Anthropocene, Arc Magazine, Atrium, Blyth Spirit, Caduceus, Contemporary Haibun, Daily Haiku, Dawntreader, Empty House Press, Ethelzine, Feral Literary Magazine and Indigo Dreams Press anthology For the Silent, to name but a few. ​With Black Bough, I’ve published Alison’s work, which I always find imaginative, often striking, always with some kind of emotional undertow, whether this is fear over the loss of species or a kind of wild joy as a witness...This collection of nature poems is a thoughtful and sensitive read by a strong, yet understated poetic voice. Get this book! (for the full review visit https://www.blackboughpoetry.com/book-reviews-jan-25-april-25)