Friendly Street Single Poet Award, 2009
i painted unfraid
A single hair asleep upon the pillow,
black against the bonded white
where only wavy blonde should show its face.
Endings begin thus quietly.
‘Bird Moon Bell’
Book Reviews
“Cadwallader brings a measured intelligence to her work to create a rush of memorable images that evoke the sights, sounds and taste of each moment. she explores the various roles of womanhood to produce a collection that is intelligent yet comfortably readable, representing a broad range of poetic styles. The result is an outstanding new book of poetry, which expresses emotional lucidity without sacrificing intellectual understanding. it displays Cadwallader’s rare talent: that of balancing rigour with passion.”
“[The poetry] is full of emotion without being unfocused or untidy…Cadwallader has precise skills with rhyme and other poetic effects—as with one clever opening line, “Knee deep in green grown over stone”— and she occasionally throws in a demanding form such as the villanelle. As the title suggests, the poems are vivid and full of colour.”
“Cadwallader’s knack for verbal economy manages to impress … several of her poems are almost succinct short stories—and shows a remarkable variety in the poet’s skills. Not only can she command rhythm, rhyme, and metre so deftly, as she shows the reader in other poems, but here she demonstrates how clearly she relishes telling a tall tale.
But she saves her best until the almost last: the penultimate poem, ‘Augustine’s Argument’. In this, her best poem (although I hesitated before typing that, since there are so many very good poems here), Cadwallader creates a poetic exploration of the at once contrasting and complementary nature of argument and touch, rhetoric and romantic love. This poem alone is a tour de force, and the poet must be thrilled with what she has accomplished in this her maiden volume of work.
I, along with the finely evoked female characters in her poems, toast Cadwallader’s health with the words ‘may you publish many more fine poems of such depth and clarity as these we drink, the “honey liquid” of your words’.”
“Luminous, lyrical and deeply moving, Cadwallader’s writing fills the senses, and sings with detail and authenticity. A compelling story of love, resilience and hope in the face of oppression and racism. Alive with imagery. I loved this book.”