Asterism
- Author: Michael Grieve (Scotland)
- Book type: poems
- Publisher: And Other Stories
- To be released: January 19, 2027
- Length: 64 pages
- Format: paperback / ebook
- Prize: £ 14.99
- Buying Options >
Michael Grieve Asterism reviews and information
Whenever a review, of Asterism, the book with poetry written by the Scottish Poet Michael Grieve appears in the media, we’ll highlight it on this page.
- “These are careful poems: careful of the difference and slippery similarity of “aconite” and “anchorite”, of how lives slip between or beyond verses – or awry, and of the skill needed to frame a tale, a way of looking at the world, that is freeing rather than entrapping. (And this is a collection aware of the many types of prison we create for ourselves and others.) These poems are the product of a sculptor’s eye for form, a miniaturist’s for detail, and a fabulist’s for colour, darkness and music. A delight.” (Peter Mackay)
Blurb for the book of poetry by Michael Grieve
The poems of Asterism are a series of short, sideways-glimpsed fictions. Without answers, they feel their way through human experience, examining fallibility and forgiveness.
Some poems present characters in situations of crisis or constraint, while in others, ideas and obsessions overflow rational boundaries towards the transgressive and the devilish. These poems range widely, from the films of John Waters and Pasolini to da Vinci’s muse, a linguistic experiment conducted by Scotland’s James IV and the epic feats of Kirkcaldy’s own Jocky Wilson. Ultimately, they explore human connections and the workaday love that holds them together.
In touch with the poetic tradition, Grieve’s debut collection may sing of the heavenly and the diabolical, but its feet are planted firmly on the ground.
Michael Grieve lives in Fife, Scotland. He works as a teacher, and before that was a bookseller. His work has appeared in many poetry journals, including The Little Review, The Dark Horse and the Irish Pages, while his pamphlet Luck is published by HappenStance. He was shortlisted for the 2020 Edwin Morgan Prize.