Maria Taylor's first collection, Melanchrini (Nine Arches Press, 2012), was excellent. However, she's stepped up her game still further since its publication. These days, there's an immediate surge of anticipaton whenever I spot a new poem by her in a journal. Moreover, her work has developed to such an extent that it's now highly distinctive in texture, tone and emotional impact.
For all the above reasons, I very much recommend you read her two pieces in Issue 15 of The Manchester Review. While you're there, why not also have a look at other excellent poems by the likes of Roy Marshall and John North?
In Denise Riley’s recent short collection of essays, A Chorus of Ears
(Picador), she reflects on the way the persona of the poet frequently gets
in the way...
