top of page
At its best this poetry is impeccable. The high
seriousness of your style reminds me of Geoffrey Hill.
The opening poem, the three broken sonnets, the
central poem 'The President's Feast' and 'The eyes of Omayra
Sanchez Garzon' are all publishable with prize-winning
potential. You write with a sense of historical
awareness, of its buried and still communicating
traumas, with a sense of literary tradition, with a
capacious care for language and with a strong sense of
present catastrophes.
Dr Stephen Willey, Prof of Creative Writing
and English, University of London
Your short story is brilliant, both in form and prose. The
content has a well-written narrative that captures the
first person and the violence of the scenes explicitly. You
have removed religious language, which is both a
political and interesting intervention into The Man of
Law's Tale. Donegild's point of view gives a further
explanation of her stories and experience. The style, in
iambs of ten syllables, is an interesting take on
Chaucer's writing, both in terms of the religious
connotations and style. The descriptions are brilliant,
and are illustrated vividly.
Birkbeck lecturer, BA Creative Writing
These poems made me think... about, among other things, the salience of poetry in general, 'devotional poetry', martyrdom…your work had me going back to Donne.
****
We are written on You
…"You wrote us/And we write us on You."
The way I remember poetry is through a few key lines like this. They help me understand the Prologue to John – they cast real light on it. 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God'. It provides a coherent answer to the question of why so often we project our own characters onto God; suggesting that is inevitable and OK 'because he wrote us first'
****
Remembering Mayo
Very evocative - I can see the place. The detail is the poem – it isn't stuck on.
*****
The President’s Feast
…is the one I can't get out of my head. The detail etches itself on the memory and is worth going back to.
Meeting Dante
Lovely. A memory/vision/dream woven together. Also pleasingly mysterious, which will lead me back to it.
The Two Dons
'Enraptured by the giants we have built
We think there are no windmills left to tilt'
A great line.
Andrew Parker
Film Director and Producer
On Water
Wow! I will need to read it slowly, many times. What a feat. I can't pretend to understand it all but it certainly touched my heart and raised many feelings and thoughts about the mysterious, difficult, poignant, joyous, beautiful nature of this life we are given to experience for a few decades. Beyond understanding, and beyond words to fully grasp or explain, only describe in some ways, the ineffable nature of our existence. The poignancy of memories, insouciance followed by the inevitable march of time towards death.
It truly touched me and I shall treasure it and share it.
Dr Veronique Foulger
Wonderfully detailed.
...
Very McPhee-ish, …quite Borgesian (as in his celebrated short ‘story’ On Exactitude in Science, and it had that quality of manic precision that you get in Will Self or Italo Calvino.
Richard Hamblyn, Senior lecturer,
Birkbeck College, University of London
How fabulous. Clever, dizzying details and a really good ending.
Diane McTaggart, writer
The humour is great – it’s an achievement. You are able to highlight the absurdity without diminishing the seriousness of the ecological concerns.
...
This is very funny and there’s a nice touch: the medical imagery seems to echo and parody William Empson’s Missing Dates.
Matt Martin, Associate Lecturer,
Birkbeck College, University of London
I shall be surprised if you don’t have a very publishable book ready soon. Perhaps with the theme of man’s injustice to man. Or more generally the dark side. In which, perhaps, the beauty can blaze through.
Joe Winter, poet, literary critic and translator
The characters are so strong – and the dialogue, story and characters tie together brilliantly.
Sharon John, writer
Just so beautiful.
...
I love the humour and the vast array of metaphors.
...
I absolutely loved this – the concept, the writing, the language, the connection between a chaotic mind and a hoarder’s house.
Ava Wollnick-Halliday, writer, poet and performer.
Winner of the Michael Donaghy Poetry Prize
Written from a place of heightened intelligence…
a palpable sense of everything being crafted so carefully and intentionally, with such tight control.
...
I felt like I was being swept up in an age-old fable…
...
Really powerful, evocative imagery.
Rose Cummins, writer
So much wordplay fun. Like a Blackadder joke on steroids. Had me spiralling into giggling fits.
...
This is how to do an interview! Lovely insights…the steering was so gently controlled…a benchmark for how to do it.
...
A beautiful and expressively-worded manifesto for us all. Thank you for the sentiment.
...
This mind of wild, sprawling influences and spider-web interconnected reams of information and ideas, is a thing of wonder. It’s filled with endless, infinite possibilities for story and art.
...
This is pitch perfect! Informative, punchy with brilliantly restrained righteous anger running through the whole piece.
Daniel Crute, writer and performer
Your work makes me think of New York, it has a journalistic literary review style. I also sensed your frustration, as though there is an under-representation that is not discussed. It’s as though you are about to burst but are cautious as to where this could lead. Art may have lost some truth and freedom along the path of righteousness. Meaty and mighty. I will be watching your progress.
Lecturer, Birkbeck College, University of London
Humanity. If I had to use one word for this poem, it is humanity. Showing the contrast with society’s often lack of humanity. It is a true art to be able to say so much with short lines.
Annette Willis, writer
The language used was very direct, almost structured in a very ‘matter of fact’ way, there was no dressing up the harsh brutality that is human trafficking.
Abigail Wells, writer
“I found much of your poetry beautiful…. the poem about Marianne was quite outstanding and very moving…I like the beauty and colour.”
Dr John Nicholls
“I have read the Murphy catalogue…and again…and again. Some, like wine, need to be rolled around the mouth, although all go to the head.”
Tim Higginson
“I can see poems triggered by a spark, a news item, a passing moment, whereas others are the result of some deep, long pondering. But the voice marshals them into a whole. You know how to close a poem out, which is a real gift.”
Tim Higginson
Brilliant and beautiful.
Ilana Sabban, writer and poet
bottom of page