ISBN 978-1-909404-51-9. Full collection 64 pages. Pur bound.
Hilary Hares’ assured first full collection.
There is a deftness and certainty to the poems in Tilting at Windmills. Hares’ voice is both political and environmental, yet it also encompasses a deep empathy for all that makes us human. From swimming robots to talking freezers, from tightrope walkers to rhubarb pickers, the poems both live in their own world and are part of the main. With something of Bishop’s eye for ‘no detail too small’, Hares takes our hand and guides us through what we have lost and are yet to lose. And yet there is also hope: ‘See how fast the sky heals behind us.’ This is an assured collection from a poet in whose company we are fortunate to linger.
Claire Dyer, poet and novelist
A wide-ranging and accessible collection that moves confidently through time and place with natural elegance and a real sense of purpose. What is above all admirable is the clarity and coherence of each poem, enhanced by Hares’ instinctive feel for rhythm and cadence. Even when she is dealing with a ‘big idea’ such as the climate emergency, her images are focused relentlessly upon its concrete and immediate effects.
David Cooke, editor of The High Window
Sample poem
The march for clean water
— Hilary Hares 3 November 2024
