ordinary words
Si Philbrook
About the Author
Si Philbrook spent twenty years working in the care sector for people with autism. He was also a chef, a night porter, call centre worker and petrol station attendant. He lived in Brighton, UK. His poetry has been published in collections, journals, e zines and magazines in the US, Canada, Australia, Ireland and the UK. He was shortlisted for the 2010 Erbacce Poetry Prize. This is his first collection.
"Si Philbrook holds a rare voice, one that speaks the joy of discovery and the pain of experience with equal wonder. This is poetry of our times."
—Kiersty Boon, author of The Poet Busker
ISBN 978-0-9903565-2-3
230 pages
$18.95
5.5" x 8.5" perfect bound, paper
Excerpt
Ordinary Words
Poetry, for me, should let the reader
in, like an old friend, come round for coffee,
talking together sharing, small, tender
moments, a love‐touch. Poetry for me
should have layers, a deep pool to dive breath-
burning into, then surface‐break, gasping
child‐like joy at returning from the depths
of thought and tears, a razor's edge rasping
across your mind and heart. Poetry for
me should have a beauty in its sound, timeless
songs, bone‐bred and sung soul‐deep, restore-
ing spirits, allowing meaning slowly to unwind
towards a better understanding of
moment, thoughts, each other...and of love.
Reviews
"Si Philbrook's poems come with sharpened edges and unadorned utterings. Philbrook's unflinching pen asks us "Who will stop this fucking clock". Read it. You will never find a dull moment in this book."
—Kushal Poddar, author of The Circus Came To My Island
"All there is, all we will remember, Is the gentleness of moment…” Ordinary Words is none less than extraordinary.
—Don MacIver, author of Journeys in Verse & A touch of Rose
"Si Philbrook manages to continuously paint pictures without materials and deliver the necessary tucked in between so many lines and stanzas. In short, Ordinary Words is that gift we always wanted to treat ourselves with. Go on!"
—Gene Barry, author of Unfinished Business and organizer of The Fermoy International Poetry Festival