The Daffodils Are Dancing: A Debut Collection Of Poems

Not as good as I thought it would be,ok

There is a riot of good and interesting thoughts and ideas here, but I'm afraid they're not very well executed. The style of writing is very old-fashioned, and there's a poor use of rhyme which doesn't help the poetry. I also found the italics throughout rather hard to read - it would have been better in non-italics. The grammar is sadly poor and there's an odd style choice of adding in an unnecessary space after every apostrophe, which is unsettling.That said, the writer does have an affinity for nature and observation - but this collection needs a good editor to find the heart of each poem, which is surely hidden in there somewhere. I did wonder whether Blackmore is more of a prose writer than a poet in actual fact - these works would have sung more effectively as prose poems perhaps. However, as they are currently, I'm afraid I can't recommend them.

What a unhelpful review, I think it is always better to say something constructive, unless it is about negative reviews, than to get the chipper out and chip away until your hearts content. The poet is a poet who cares, and given it a go. Better splutter into other lines then being a poetry critic.