Reviews

‘These poems gallop with surrealism – each page is like stepping into a Frida Kahlo painting, or perhaps a work by Louise Bourgeois. […] Petit’s beasts dance through her language. […] For Petit, metaphors give form to the unspeakable. […] Although there may not be answers, there is powerful knowing here.’

Ellora Sutton, Mslexia

‘A kaleidoscopic menagerie of creatures, both heavenly and demonic, await the reader in Pascale Petit’s astonishing collection Beast.’

Georgie Henley, Poetry Wales

'Petit, who is of French, Welsh, and Indian heritage, embraces the landscapes of each of her countries of origin in potent brooding poems that explore trauma and transformation. Following the dark paths her memories forge, Petit documents scenes that seethe with life and startling imagery, “the air quivering with scented paths into the perfumed forest.” [...] It’s a vivid and elegant collection.'

Publishers Weekly

‘Beast is an intense, lyrical work which asks difficult questions: whether survival is possible in an abusive family, or on an abused planet ravaged by war and climatic destruction. Yet the poet finds love, hope and celebration where she can, in the making of art, and in the beauty of an endangered world.’

The Scotsman

‘The imagery has a lineage of Plath’s intensity meets Hughes bestiary, with an emotional narrative all Petit’s own. This gripping collection from Petit, whose work has been short-listed for the T.S. Eliot prize four times, teams with surprises, though perhaps more so if you are new to her work.’

Rebecca Morgan Frank, Literary Hub