a mother is a paperclip

<p>The shaping of a mother - from urgency of maternal drive to discovering what nestles buried within the small print lies here.</p><p>Deep-seated longing for a child when endlessly thwarted carrying to term gives way to the joy of new-borns. Bitingly acute fears sometimes tiger-rage when children are hurt are forensically examined - through to the bitter-sweetness of their flight. The raw organic ever-evolving transformations throughout motherhood are reflected through both personal narrative and more universally.</p><p>Once motherhood takes hold - there is no letting go. All within the nest is held as safely as love can make it within that gentle paperclip clasp.</p><hr><p>a mother is a paperclip is a timeless collection with poems so alive to language they animate and vitalise the 'fulsome dark' of motherhood in all its joys fears and furies.</p><p class=ql-align-right>- Kaddy Benyon <em>The Mirror and its Fragments</em></p><p><br></p><p>Karen Francis 'nails it' for motherhood in a mother is a paperclip. In these poems the 'threads of life' are woven into a magical tapestry in which personal stories are depicted with a touching realism. Reference to Animal Myth and Legends widen the scope and bring to the fore a sense of mother as archetype'</p><p class=ql-align-right>-Anne Bailey <em>What the house taught us</em></p><p><br></p><p>This debut by Karen Francis reads like a love letter to motherhood - not schmalzy or sickly sweet - this is a warts and all examination of the ups and downs of being a parent (and a grandparent). Full of tenderness and innovative use of language - Karen takes us on a journey and keeps us right there with her through every small and major bump in the road - showing us that you never stop being a parent however old your children are.</p><p class=ql-align-right>-Julia Webb The Telling. Poetry Society Stanza winner 2011 and Battered Moon Winner 2018</p><p><br></p>