Mona Sings by Annie Kissack
New, published October 2022
Mona Sings is a collection of poems by the Fifth Manx Bard, Annie Kissack, and inspired by her homeland, the Isle of Man. It’s a rare thing to be moved to tears by a poem, but this happened to me several times while reading this quietly dazzling
collection. While there are glimmers of Eliot and echoes of R.S. Thomas, Annie Kissack’s voice is assuredly her own. This is a pure voice; you know each poem to be the truth. These are poems to be transported by, to lose yourself in, time and time again.
Janet Lees, Poet, artist and poetry film-maker
'If I could paint, I would paint this land for you.' Yet, Annie Kissack does just that for us, in words rich in old bones, Celtic myths and childhood memories. She breathes a vivacious pattern into this perhaps 'departing language' and importantly, fixes oral traditions in print. Nor are they all pasts...as the 'mushroom fashionistas’ proclaim. This is the untaught history made colourful, relevant and alive for all of us. Any reader from beyond the Isle of Man will surely want to join her both in her 'bright spots' and
with 'the shadows looking down on lonely places’. Thank you Annie for this treasure of a collection.
Beth McDonough, Makar, Federation of Writers (Scotland) 2022