Yvonne Green
The Assay
Yvonne Green was born in London in 1957. Her poems have been published in many magazines and journals and on BBC Radio 4’s 'The Food Programme'. She was poet in residence to JWA Women’s Refuge, to Norwood Ravenswood and at Spiro’s Ark. Her pamphlet, Boukhara, was a winner in the 2008 Book & Pamphlet Competition, judged by Alison Brackenbury.
Reviews of The Assay
"I like the way good food and diction go together so clearly... The
poems are different to what one normally gets in English, the issues far
bigger, as in 'Dhimmi Under Sharia Law' (A Lawyer’s Poem) and in many
others that one may benefit from." — Alan Sillitoe
"These enthralling and lovely poems begin with rich recollections of
another country (‘so we ate, so we loved’), but darken into the shock of
domestic violence. Her poems are absolutely straightforward to read,
but quite unforgettable." — Alison Brackenbury
"Yvonne Green takes us into the unfamilar world of Boukhara and Judeo
Tajik culture with complete assurance. For all the lucidity of her
poetry, her work has an unusual density. This is a fine new voice, which
deserves to be widely heard." — Elaine Feinstein
"Yvonne Green’s poems are strange, evoking unfamiliar worlds and seeing
them with their own kind of language. She effaces their merely
subjective self and her poems get into their subjects. What matters is
the voices out there, and she hears them. There is so much world, so
many stories, included here. It is wonderful to encounter this vivid
annex to experience and understanding." — Michael Schmidt
THAT I MAY KNOW YOU
Let me visit your house
and eat something
of what is on your table
hear you and know
some of your language
Fear those of our
differences which I
am aware of, walk
barefoot, listening
for the steadiness
of breath
The Poetry Business receives financial assistance from Arts Council England.
