Renaissance by Amy Clennell is a well fleshed out collection of poetry about her life and provides a viewpoint of someone with cerebral palsy. From this perspective I think it is a really important read to better understand the position people like Amy are in and how cerebral palsy affects their lives. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy a lot of the poetry itself and it felt very much like the typical instapoetry of our modern era, like Rupi Kaur. If you like poetry like her's then I think you will also enjoy Amy's.

I have mixed feelings about this collection. Some of the poems were extremely evocative and left me contemplating. Others felt awkward and although I understood them, I didn’t feel anything. I also didn’t really like the arrangement of this collection - it’s fine that the poems weren’t centred around one theme but they could’ve been categorized, because the switch in topics felt too abrupt.

A strikingly personal and authentic collection of 36 poems, spanning thoughts and ideas from art, film, news, ballet, health and the authors own life and loves.

Amy says, “My condition, cerebral palsy, leaves me with some obvious and some hidden disabilities. At times, such difficulties lead to conflict, frustration and insecurity. I have found a refuge in writing. For me, setting words on paper is also a healing and motivating process.”

It's clear from her hauntingly beautiful prose than Amy understands and captures the power of the written word, and the struggles of overcoming the hidden obstacles that come between us and our passions. Drawing clear inspiration from the visual and the tangible and painting intriguing and thought provoking pictures for the reader.

The prose and subjects were diverse, ever-changing, and while I generally prefer poetry collections to have some form of tie-in or structure, I still enjoyed them all on their own merit. There was a level of visual appeal to her poetry, and a warm familiarity to the structure and rhythm of her words.

I really wanted to love this book, but I didn't. The premise is very, very interesting - the author is someone whose poetry I was interested in. But it fell flat for me. Some poems were interesting, mostly the ones related to art, but others felt distant and simple, even. I still hope that Amy Clennell keeps writing and that she shows the world a new voice, representing people who so rarely have one.

Rating: 2.75 🌟
First and foremost, I'd like to express my gratitude to Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this poetry book.
The majority of the poems in this book did not resonate with me. Most of the poems had a source of inspiration, which was interesting to see from a different perspective, but I couldn't connect with it.

While the language of these poems is often rich, the writer's use of alliteration, basic rhymes, and forms in which ideas are awkwardly communicated (see the sonnets in particular) were too overwhelming for me to enjoy much of this collection. I didn't get the feeling that the author had done much thoughtful revision or editing either of the individual poems or the collection as a whole. There are a lot of very similar poems on the same topics, and there was no clear reasoning for the ordering or inclusion of poems.

I read poetry to feel the feelings of other people through words and this book makes me feel so many things. A beautifully written book of pure raw emotion and imagination my favorite poems have to be the the ones inspired by paintings making me feel a certain way about an inanimate object is what separates this poetry book from the rest. Hope to see more from this author in the future 10/10😊

This was such a great poetry book and definitely what I needed to read to help get me out of my reading slump. The poems in this book were so moving. You could definitely feel the raw emotion that had been put into writing these poems.

Like I’ve said in other reviews, poetry is incredibly diverse and subjective, so just because I don’t like something doesn’t mean someone else won’t.

I wanted to love this. The description sounded like it could be something wonderful and enlightening, but unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy it. It wasn’t bad by any means, but I didn’t feel any connection to the poetry, and nothing inside me felt moved by the words. Sadly, that’s reflected in my rating as feeling something when reading someone’s poetry is the reason why I read it.

The poems also didn’t seem related to one another, in either subject or theme, which is something I look for in poetry collections. Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author, for a chance to read and review this book.

A deeply personal and evocative collection of poems, full of soul, hope, and pure magic.

Renaissance is a collection of 36 poems that verse about life, art, love, and nature. It's a deep dive into the author's thoughts and views of the world, and a glimpse into some of the happiest and saddest moments in a person's life.

I admire Amy Clennell deeply. To have so many obstacles to express oneself, but to have the spirit and dedication to push through them is remarkable. It makes me happy that this book exists and that the author has been able to share it with us.

Clennell's poems are not just words put together to sound and look pretty. They do look and sound pretty, of course, but moreover, they are pieces of the author's soul translated into writing, tales of struggle and hardships, of happiness and hope. In the collection, there are poems about Cinderella, about dolphins, about sisters and brothers and friends and fairies, aunts and uncles. It’s inevitable to not find yourself in them, and I loved the connection that I as a reader could form with these poems.
I enjoyed each and every poem, but some of my favorites were:

- ‘Sisterly Love’. I’m an older sister to my little brother, so this one specially touched my heart, and the last two verses made me tear up:

“As he gripped my finger in his tiny hand
I knew that he would always hold my heart”

- ‘A Tragedy in Floriography’. This is one of the prettiest poems in the book. I love everything about flowers and the whole story it tells was just beautiful and evocative. I’ll leave what I think is my favorite quote in the whole collection:

“Though daisies three proclaim her innocence,
A chain of violets foretells her fate;
To suffer early death for no offence
Since loosestrife's peaceful pardon comes too late”.

- ‘Hope for Winter, a Story for Dolphins’. Oh, this one was definitely one of my most favorites. It’s beautiful and sad and full of hope. I have never actually watched the movie that inspired it (A Dolphin Tale) but still the author transmitted me so much sentiment with her words that I might actually just go watch it right away.

Other poems I loved for how special they were are ‘My Alfie’, ‘The Elephant in the Classroom, “Special School”, Coundon’, ‘Evelyn Rose’, and ‘In My Fairy Glen’.

I hope many more people will get the chance to pick up this book when it comes out in May 16th, because it’s something really, truly special. I’ll also be definitely picking up more books by the author in the near future.

To end this review, I’ll leave you with a quote from ‘In My Fairy Glen’ that just moved something inside of me:

“Silvery specks sitting on the purple pansies
And so, step by step, I reached the end of the garden.
They shone in the shady glen
And I wished they would heal my tired body.
That would never be
But they healed my tired soul”


It has been an absolute honor to have read this book. I want to thank Netgalley and the publisher, Cherish Editions, for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much for the publisher, to Netgalley and to Amy Clennell for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Poetry has many goals and paths it can take. Some poems create, some poems mourn, some poems reach through the page and speak to you in a way only described as “ours”. This collection achieves, and excels, at all three of these.

It is hard to believe this is a debut collection, it was so intricately woven and so breathtaking. I’ll definitely be buying myself a copy once it is published. This is the exact sort of poetry I could recommend and rave about for hours on end. Everything from the subtle and delicate haikus, to the deep cutting grief explored through long stanzas, every word was precise and crafted and chosen.

My personal favourite poem was “My Alfie”. I am autistic myself, I really felt seen by the poem’s illustration of the fatigue constant explaining and justifying our existence to others brings.

Throughout many of the poems, Amy retells or recent eve fairytales in such a charming way. She combines fairytales and various mythical and folklore allusions with the well-placed diction choices and language devices, meaning these poems both rolled off the tongue and off the page into my heart. Each poem felt well-rounded, and not one felt overtly repetitive or same-sy. Each brought their own factors to the table, and contributed to a stunning collection.

To conclude, I would rate this collection of poems 4.25 stars. I would have rated it as a 4.5 star read, but I wasn’t a fan of the limericks near the end - they felt forced and out of place.

Thank you to Netgalley and Cherish Editions for granting me an ARC of book. Some of this poetry was incredibly strong, but some of it fell flat. It was powerful to read about Amy's struggles with her chronic health issues and I adored that she used very strong imagery. The fact that many of these poems were based off of artwork of various forms made it very interesting and nuanced. The line art that accompanied each poem complimented the poetry beautifully.

Some of these poems were really good and others were just meh. I thought the writing was creative but the poems were all over the place, there’s was no theme or subject for this collection. I liked were the author got her inspiration from.

First off, thank you to Netgalley and Cherish Editions/Trigger Publishing for granting me an advanced copy of this poetry book.
Amy's story is inspiring. As someone with cerebral palsy and a vision impairment, she tackles all obstacles to create the written word. I especially loved the poem about autism and how it affects your worldview (I am an autism specialist teacher).
Though these poems were great, most of them were based off of paintings, films, or other works of art already in existence. This made it difficult to relate to the poems without having prior knowledge on the content.
Overall a good, meaningful collection of poetry with a very inspiring author.

A very eclectic collection of poetry. I enjoyed the way she used the Renaissance paintings as a muse for some of her work. I was also a fan of the Ballets ( Red Shoes and Sleeping Beauty) were two of my favorites.

Poetry is very divisive and I'm sure this poetry is no exception.
For me personally, I didn't enjoy this book at all. I found the poems to be all over the place, and I didn't feel like they went together as part of a collection at all.
I also found the poems to be incredibly simple and basic - but not in a good way. I thought I was reading a greetings card message at one point.
This book wasn't for me.

Each poem of hers are a revelation, a joy of reading. Her poems are multilayered and complex and I saw myself diving deep into them. I absolutely loved the book. And would recommend anyone to know her work and her.

Poet Amy Clennell has overcome cerebral palsy and its associated disabilities to achieve major goals in her life and to take up writing, and “Renaissance” is her latest volume of poetry. There is certainly plenty of evidence of strength and determination in these wonderfully affecting poems.
There is a strong sense throughout the opening poem “Morwenna” of someone refusing to be beaten by their own imperfect body, but in “Ready To Fly” we get a harrowing glimpse of an unhappy childhood, and yet that inner strength shines through.
Amy’s joy at a baby brother in “Sisterly Love” is heartwarming (even though she really wanted a sister) is followed by another show of that glorious f-you attitude in “Blessed” as Amy “duets” with singer Lemar at a concert in spite of an audience’s disapproval. Both angry and funny, when a poet rhymes “lackey” with “wacky baccy” you know you’ve discovered a rare talent!
“My Alfie” is Amy’s heartfelt plea for connection with her autistic son, a stark and concise poem that hits hard. “The Elephant in the Classroom, “Special School”, Coundon” is a touching eulogy to a lost friend which displays Clennell’s poetical and linguistic skill at its very best. “Fringe of the Grove in Sunlight” and “Salvage” and “Sunflower Seeds of Hope” are a trio of cryptic verses with a lot of vivid and ethereal imagery.
This continues in the series of poems inspired by paintings by artists such as Millais and Degas, and the short story “The Happy Prince” by Oscar Wilde. These are all very firmly rooted in the traditional poetic form yet there are glimpses of a cheeky frivolity in “The Jovial Jibes of the Swing” and “A Tragedy in Floriography” - Clennell isn’t being entirely serious here, despite the romantic and flowery language. “The Launderer’s Lament”, inspired by Edgar Degas’ painting “Women Ironing”, is the rhythmic, kinetic and funny inner monologue of a woman ironing rich men’s shirts. The “Sleeping Beauty”-inspired “A Gothic Romance” employs a clever acrostic device and is extremely vivid and windswept, while in “Courage and Kindness” Cinderella takes an uncertain step towards a new future, a poem that could be taken as an allegory of the courage Amy has shown in her life.
Nature poem “Duel At Dawn” vividly conjures up the onset of winter. It’s the hallmark of a good poet if they can describe the unknowable power of the seasons. Violent death permeates “Postmortem” and “Lesson Learnt”, the latter depicting the drowning of a child by some kind of sea creature in lucid (and lurid) language, which shocks more due to its present-tense urgency. One of my favourites in the collection, “A Modern Troubadour”, all the more effective due to its conciseness, tells of a resolute minstrel unable to escape the inevitable end of his wandering existence.
“Hope For Winter, A Story Of Dolphins”, inspired by the two “A Dolphin Tale” films, is an intense long-form poem about a dolphin enduring torment yet ultimately finding hope. “Evelyn Rose” is the titular pandemic baby, born uncertainly yet determined to survive; once again the overarching theme of survival against the odds is skilfully invoked.
The beautiful “In My Fairy Glen”, one of the true highlights of the book, shows how the simplest of things can conceal magic, while in the playful “Backyard Critters” relates a charming encounter with a baby turtle. “Fat Club” is a humorous snapshot of the temptations laid before a dieter, and the three “Limericks” that follow it, all about canine misadventures, are hilariously cheeky.
Terrorism, London traffic and a headlong rush towards a TV appearance all combine in the heartwarming “An Unkindness of Ravens”, while in “Something To Do With Cake” Amy shares her joy at her brother’s wedding. “Sometimes The Grass Is Greener” is a tale of two people slowly becoming one, told through the metaphor of two horses, and is extremely touching and organic.
This stunning collection is rounded off with the funny “What A Pantomime” about a panto Dame with a cheeky yet honest aspiration, and finally the colourful and vibrant “Renaissance”, a tribute to the Phoenix, and once again a metaphor for endurance against all odds. It is a magnificent end to an astonishing book.
Simple yet apt artwork accompanies the poems while fragile haikus punctuate the text, acting as a palette cleanser.
Amy Clennell has found a refuge in writing, and her readers will find a refuge in Amy Clennell’s writing. Gutsy, inspiring and uplifting, “Renaissance” is the best collection of poetry I have read for a long time; I am floored by Amy’s skill with words and emotions. I was put through the wringer but I loved every minute of it!