The Assay

Yvonne Green

978-1-906613-17-4

£8.95

Yvonne Green was born in London in 1957. Her poems have been published in many magazines and journals and on BBC Radio 4’s 'The Food Programme'. She was poet in residence to JWA Women’s Refuge, to Norwood Ravenswood and at Spiro’s Ark.

Reviews of 'The Assay':

'I like the way good food and diction go together so clearly. Geographically [these poems] excel, and in so many other directions too. The poems are different to what one normally gets in English, the issues far bigger, as in "Dhimmi Under Sharia Law" (A Lawyer's Poem) and in many others that one may benefit from. Such excellent poems show how different customs can nevertheless blend, especially in, "We Speak English Now." I also very much like, "That I May Know You:" "Let me visit your houise/and eat something/of what is on your table/hear you and know/some of your language."' — Alan Sillitoe

‘Yvonne Green’s poems are strange, evoking unfamiliar worlds and seeing them with their own kind of language. She effaces there merely subjective self and her poems get into their subjects. What matters is the voices out there, and she hears them. There is so much world, so many stories, included here. It is wonderful to encounter this vivid annex to experience and understanding.’ — Michael Schmidt

Her pamphlet, 'Boukhara', is available here.

Praise for 'Boukhara':

‘Yvonne Green takes us into the unfamiliar world of Boukhara and Judeo Tajik culture with complete assurance. For all the lucidity of her poetry, her work has an unusual density. This is a fine new voice, which deserves to be widely heard.’ – Elaine Feinstein

‘There is a homeliness and accuracy of observation and diction in her work which reveal religious and social dignity.’ – Sebastian Barker

‘These enthralling and lovely poems begin with rich recollections of another country (“so we ate so we loved”), but darken into the shock of domestic violence. This collection is absolutely straightforward to read, but quite unforgettable.’ – Alison Brackenbury