With Love, Grief and Fury by Salena Godden is a powerful and evocative poetry collection that seamlessly blends love, loss, and activism. Spanning decades of poetic exploration, Godden’s work is a mix of heartfelt tributes to people and the planet, raw expressions of grief, and fiery calls for social change. Her voice is both compassionate and uncompromising, offering readers a deeply personal and political journey. This collection is a testament to Godden’s trailblazing spirit and serves as both a healing and rallying cry, nourishing the soul with its bold truths and tender moments.

Gorgeous book. Reading more poetry this year as a challenge to myself has been a delight and this adds to the wondrous poetry books I’ve read this year. Glorious. Great gift. Great book.

A stunningly bright, memorising collection of poetry, prose, script and short stories. Felt like the author's emotions were pouring onto the page, the title is perfect.

My favourites were Autumn Secretary & Book Mother.

Perfect book to pick up and turn to a piece of prose which reflects your own current emotions, you will feel heard.

I fell in love with Salena’s writing with ‘Mrs Death Misses Death’ and promptly sought out poetry collection 'Fishing in the Aftermath’ – I’ve never looked back.

Let me just say that ‘with love, grief and fury’ is fabulous.

With 80 poems to choose from you will be spoilt for choice for a favourite but I have a few that were stand outs for me. Sorry, but yours will undoubtedly differ.

Sorry – how many times do you say that word in a day. As many as one hundred times in the space of three hours? Think about it. I just said it in the last paragraph and I’m not sure what I’m apologising for. Do you?

The Then and The Now – is there any better time machine than music. A song that as soon as you hear it you’re transported back to the then of the song. It’s amazing that music can do that, no? This poem delves into music as the ultimate time traveller.

Five Words – I don’t think I’ll ever read a poem that is so thoroughly gut-punching using just five words per line than this. Dedicated to the memory of Sarah Everard, Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman. As someone who had six degrees of separation to one of those souls, it’s a heartbreaking few pages.

On top of those you’ll experience others that tackle social injustice, mental health, the pandemic, nature, global warming and of course – love, grief and fury.

And I know you should never judge a book by its cover but this one IS simply gorgeous. And the typography inside is top notch too.

If you’ve not read any of Salena’s work before please consider picking this up – and prepare to be moved.

This poetry collection is a wonderful and touching exploration of profound themes such as love, grief, aging, injustice, and climate change. It paints a raw and honest picture of contemporary society, capturing the many vulnerable aspects of modern life. Each poem is crafted with skill, evoking deep emotional responses while also offering a sense of renewal and introspection.

This collection by Salena Godden is passionate, compassionate and compelling. It has poems that I will return to again and again- some that break your heart and some that fortify you in hard times.
Highly recommended.

“In a time of apathy, / hope is a revolutionary act”. I knew Godden from her hybrid novel Mrs Death Misses Death, but this was my first taste of the poetry for which she is better known. The title gives a flavour of the variety in tone. Poems arise from environmental anxiety; feminist outrage at discrimination and violence towards women; and personal experience of bisexuality, being childfree (“Book Mother” and “Egg and Spoon Race”), and entering perimenopause (“Evergreen Tea”). Solidarity and protest are strategies for dispelling ignorance about all of the above. Godden also marks the rhythms of everyday life for a single artist, and advises taking delight in life’s small pleasures.

The social justice angle made it a perfect book for me to read portions of on the Restore Nature Now march through London in June and while volunteering as an election teller at a polling station last week. It contains 81 poems (many of them overlong prose ones), making for a much lengthier collection than I would usually pick up. The repetition, wordplay and run-on sentences are really meant more for performance than for reading on the page, but if you’re a fan of Hollie McNish or Kae Tempest, you’re likely to enjoy this, too. (3.5 stars)

A wonderful and touching poetry book that skilfully explores themes of love, grief, aging, injustice, climate, futures, amongst many other important things. This collection of poetry paints a very raw picture of society as it is today and encapsulates so many vulnerable elements of living. Not only did the poems touch me emotionally, they also rejuvenated me. I really liked: But First Make Tea, wonderful world, and With Love, Grief, and fury.

This is a brilliant book and one to have by your side every day because the poet gathers
you into her world but it is your world as well . The poet addresses the traumas and the issues
that we often encounter. Each poem is a beacon to love more, do more, anger more, speak up more.
Her ‘Last Words’, so beautifully written, will motivate you for the today ahead and for the future.

With Love, Grief and Fury is an invigorating collection of poems that discuss a plethora of topics with raw emotion and a sense of urgency. Salena Godden’s ability to capture the human experience in such depth with her words is remarkable. I really enjoyed reading this!

Salena Godden, one of the most exciting poets of our time. Have you seen her perform? You absoutely must!

This electrifiying collection of absorbing verse will bring you to tears, fire you into action and touch your creative soul.

Have already ordered a paper copy to return to again, and again, and again. This is a collection I will hold on to.

Heartfelt poems that not only make you reflect, but they can boost you up too.
A real range of emotions - I really enjoyed this book!

This is such a wonderful poetry collection, covering so many topics in so much depth.
I would recommend this to lovers of poetry that perfectly encapsulates some of the most vulnerable elements of the human experience.

There were a handful of poems that felt a little repetitive, and some others that felt slightly out of place in this collection. This is the only reason I didn’t give this one 5 stars personally, but I still loved the collection so much.

Selena has such a talent for capturing those types of human experiences that feel unique when you’re in it but really are incredibly relatable and an integral part of the human experience.

With Love, Grief, and Fury felt like a real labor of love. It felt like a true privilege to be able to glimpse into Salena’s world with this collection.

Some of my favorites were: When You Stub Your Toe, But First Make Tea, Wonderful World, and With Love, Grief, and Fury 2 & 5.

Thanks to NetGalley and Canongate for the e-arc. All opinions are my own.

Powerful and beautiful writing. I really enjoyed reading these poems. I find myself dipping back into this book and rereading. Highly recommended.

This a beautiful collection of poetry and creative non fiction, and I enjoyed it from start to finish. It was thought-provoking and heartbreaking, and kept me engaged until the end. I can’t wait to read more from the author in the future.

I fell in love with Salena’s writing with ‘Mrs Death Misses Death’ and promptly sought out poetry collection 'Fishing in the Aftermath’ – I’ve never looked back.

Let me just say that ‘with love, grief and fury’ is fabulous.

With 80 poems to choose from you will be spoilt for choice for a favourite but I have a few that were stand outs for me. Sorry, but yours will undoubtedly differ.

Sorry – how many times do you say that word in a day. As many as one hundred times in the space of three hours? Think about it. I just said it in the last paragraph and I’m not sure what I’m apologising for. Do you?

The Then and The Now – is there any better time machine than music. A song that as soon as you hear it you’re transported back to the then of the song. It’s amazing that music can do that, no? This poem delves into music as the ultimate time traveller.

Five Words – I don’t think I’ll ever read a poem that is so thoroughly gut-punching using just five words per line than this. Dedicated to the memory of Sarah Everard, Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman. As someone who had six degrees of separation to one of those souls, it’s a heartbreaking few pages.

On top of those you’ll experience others that tackle social injustice, mental health, the pandemic, nature, global warming and of course – love, grief and fury.

And I know you should never judge a book by its cover but this one IS simply gorgeous. And the typography inside is top notch too.

If you’ve not read any of Salena’s work before please consider picking this up – and prepare to be moved.

This is easily in my top 19 reads of 2024!

Another incredible read from the amazing Salena Godden.
It felt like every single poem spoke directly to me, that I had experienced or felt every situation in them.
I cried, I laughed out loud and I loved.
Highly recommend!

another delicious book from the talented salena godden.

with love, grief and fury paints a very honest picture about todays society and life. I loved the constant stream of consciousness in some of the longer poems, they felt a bit more raw with feelings.

the only reason this wasn’t 5 stars for me as some of the poems came across quite repetitive.

With Love, Grief and Fury contains love poems for people and the planet, poems of grief brimming with compassion, and poems of fire and fury that kick some ass.

This felt like a very raw and real collection of poetry and this definitely resonated with my life right now.