Brink Jo Burns, Turas Press

Brink is a work that bears witness to a world hovering on the edge of crisis, yet sees hope in the compassion and empathy in personal relationships
which forge the unbreakable bonds that bind us. From her vantage point of the post-truth, pandemic-afflicted present, Jo Burns turns her fierce analytic powers to the impact of propaganda and conspiracy theories on public and private discourse. Her unwavering eye roves over the bloody history of the 20 th century, seeing our only hope in forging the personal connections which give promise for the future. These arresting poems are imbued with the multi-layered, highly textured craft of a poet at the height of her powers, committed to engaging with the most urgent questions of our time.

“The poems in Brink are charged with exceptional grace, gravity and heft. Jo Burns’ erudition and unflinching gaze evince the fragile
brilliance of the natural world, the egregious actions of the human world, where dark social history is tempered with gentle humanity.”
Eleanor Hooker

“These poems are subtle, lyrical and elegant, but they also insist: Brink charts a pivotal moment and challenges its readers to reconsider the lessons of history. It is a profoundly wise collection, but it never preaches. These are poems of humility and vital reading for our
times.” Helen Mort