strange fruits by Maria C. McCarthy ‘Maria McCarthy writes of the poetry process: “There is a quickening early in the day” (‘Raising Poems’). A quickening is certainly apparent in these humane poems, which are both natural and skilful, and combine the earthiness and mysteriousness of life. I read strange fruits with pleasure, surprise and a sense of recognition.’ Moniza Alvi, author of Europa This is the fourth project from WordAid, a collective of poets dedicated to raising money for charity (to date, over £4000) by publishing good writing. As in all of WordAid's books, the poems here have been selected not only to make a positive impact on the world but because their quality brings its own rewards. Maria McCarthy has dedicated this book to raising funds for Macmillan Cancer Support (www.macmillan.org.uk), the charity that helped her friend Karen McAndrew in the last weeks of her life and supported Karen’s family and friends as they struggled to come to terms with their loss. Maria is a poet of remarkable skill, whose work offers surprising glimpses into our 21st-century lives – the ‘strange fruits’ of our civilization or lack of it – shot through with mediations on the past and her heritage as ‘an Irish girl, an English woman’. Whether describing a burnt-out building, ‘its curved bones / bared like a half-carved turkey’ or the dream-shop where ‘the skins of outgrown friends / hung on the rack by the door’, her images and insights are always unexpected and original. In ‘Where the High Street meets Star Hill’, she relates how she and Karen used to ‘mooch’ around charity shops, and Karen’s gift for noticing items that she would reinvent as gifts for family and friends. Maria’s parallel capacity to notice and reinvent the world around her in writing shines through in these pages. Macmillan Cancer Support works with cancer sufferers and their relatives and friends to improve the lives of all those affected through providing practical, medical and financial support, as well as campaigning for better cancer care. Two million people in the UK are currently living with cancer and many of our lives have been touched by it, directly or indirectly, so there’s no doubt this book will make a difference. Buy it, enjoy the poems, and change lives for the better. Vicky Wilson, WordAid.org.uk For more information on strange fruits, and to buy a copy, go to www.culturedllama.co.uk Events: Maria will be reading from strange fruits at Gillingham Library, 24 September, 2.00 pm. There will be guest poets and a performance by Swale Sings community choir. 'From Page to Stage', an evening of spoken word, music and dance to launch strange fruits, The Avenue Theatre, Sittingbourne, 1 October, 7.30 pm. Tickets £7.50 from www.avenuetheatre.co.uk All profits from the evening and from the sale of the book will go to Macmillan Cancer Support Maria will be reading from strange fruits with WordAid poets Vicky Wilson, Nicky Gould, Jo Field and Jen Kahawatte at Canterbury Library, 25 October, 7.00 -9.00 pm. All WordAid publications will be available for purchase.
