POETRY SPOTLIGHT: 'Maslins Beach at Midnight' by Jeri Kroll

Workshopping the Heart, Jeri Kroll

Our poetry spotlight shines on Jeri Kroll today, and her lovely collection Workshopping the Heart.

This witty, moving and accessible collection gathers poems from six previous books, beginning with Death as Mr Right, which won second prize in the 1982 Anne Elder Award for best first poetry book in Australia. With irony and frankness, Jeri Kroll workshops the complex relationships that individuals establish over the course of a lifetime with friends and family, as well as with the physical and social environments that shape them. In particular, she tackles the significance of parenthood, gender and ageing.

Post written by Poppy Nwosu

I admit I had a little bit of trouble picking out only one poem to spotlight this week from Jeri Kroll's collection Workshopping the Heart.
I think this is a beautiful collection, filled with poems that convey such a depth of emotion through lovely descriptive language that somehow still feels streamlined and sparse. As a writer myself, I am always impressed by authors or poets who can express so much with so little.
An example for me would be the very short poem 'Body'. It is so minimal, and yet when reading it I was able to easily slide into my imagination and picture the scene this poet paints – a moment of beauty, which ends with a surprising bite.
Body, Jeri Kroll from Workshopping the Heart
Because I was unable to choose only one poem today, I have included three that I really loved.
I found the first to be romantic, the next devastating, and the final a perfect moment captured in time by the poet's words.
I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I did.

'Bedfellows'

Bedfellows, Jeri Kroll from Workshopping the Heart

'The Boy in Morgan Hall'

The Boy in Morgan Hall, Jeri Kroll from Workshopping the Heart

'Maslins Beach at Midnight'

Maslins Beach at Midnight, Jeri Kroll from Workshopping the Heart
Find out more about Jeri Kroll and Workshopping the Heart on our website.

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