On first reading I was distinctly unimpressed with Lorcán Black’s “Strange Husbandry”. Indeed, I very nearly didn’t finish it. But I put it aside (for a couple of months) and re-read it last week. [This is a new process I seem to have adopted with poetry collections – especially those I struggle with initially.]
The result? Whilst it isn’t consistently to my taste, there’s an awful lot to like in “Strange Husbandry” – in terms of imagery, tone, use of language, engagement etc.
And perhaps that’s the lesson (especially with poetry): often you need to take two bites of the poetry cherry – it may not taste so ‘sharp’ second time around.
Ian Gouge - Writer 