All too often I find that poems concerning themselves with subjects like climate change and sexual identity try to slap you round the face with their message, or smack you between the eyes. A fair number of the poems in Caleb Parkin’s “This Fruiting Body” are far more subtle than that; they manage to get their message across without losing poetic subtlety.
There is a greater degree of satisfaction for the reader if, at the end of a piece, they can turn round and say “I see what you did there”…
Oddly, however, I think the collection would have been stronger for being a little shorter, the standard which is set in the earlier poems are perhaps not quite matched by some of the later ones. Or maybe I was just fatigued near the end (though I did read the book over a number of days).
There is a degree of inventiveness in the collection too. Poems like “Garden” and “Terms of Service” seem to carry the invention off; elsewhere, perhaps there are one or two which are less successful.
In summary, if you’re looking for these ‘big’ themes tackled in a variety of modern styles and idioms, then “This Fruiting Body” might just fit the bill – but perhaps don’t expect to love every poem equally.
Ian Gouge - Writer 