Thicket

In Anna Jackson’s fifth collection of poetry, a rich and leafy life closes in on the New Zealand poet. Scenarios from home and work join fairy-tale tropes in these multifaceted poems that preoccupy themselves with thickets of language and other tangles and examine the relationship between “I” and “you.” Venturing into the realm of academia, the zoo, and a pool hall, this compilation also visits the sites of folktales, stories, and dreams. With surprising twists on what would normally be seen as commonplace, these clever poems explore the pleasure of wordplay while treading the path less followed.