Wilder (Pavilion Poetry)

Shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize 2022 and awarded the Third Prize in the Laurel Prize 2022, Jemma Borg's second collection, Wilder, delves into the deeper and more elusive aspects of our mental and physical lives. These meticulous and sensuous poems demonstrate a restless intelligence, seeking to uncover what we are losing and inviting us to 'break ourselves each against the beauty of the other'.

Whether revisiting Dante's forest of the suicides, experiencing the saturation of new motherhood, or engaging in a boundary-dissolving encounter with a psychedelic cactus, the poems in Wilder are acts of excavation. They call on us to remember ourselves as the animals we are, in connection with the complex web of life, and to consider wildness as a process of becoming, reforming, and growth.

In a time when denial is a luxury we can no longer afford, Borg's work encourages us to be willing to enter despair, to find what Gary Snyder described as 'the real world to which we belong', and to recover the means to save what we are destroying. By reconnecting with the wild within us, we may discover the extended sympathy that Mary Midgley spoke of, and forge a deeper understanding of our place in the natural world.

The poems in Wilder are a powerful exploration of the human condition, challenging us to confront our own fragility and the fragility of the planet we inhabit. Borg's writing is both intimate and expansive, delving into the personal while addressing the universal. Through her vivid and evocative language, she invites us to step outside of our comfort zones and embrace the unknown, the untamed, and the untamed within ourselves.

As we navigate the complexities of the modern world, Wilder serves as a vital reminder of the importance of reconnecting with the natural world and our own innate wildness. Borg's poems urge us to remember our roots, to embrace the beauty and complexity of the living systems that sustain us, and to find the courage to confront the challenges that lie ahead. Through this powerful collection, Jemma Borg emerges as a voice of crucial importance, guiding us towards a deeper understanding of ourselves and our place in the world.

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