Silent Violence with Petals

Silent Violence with Petals by Charlotte Cosgrove winds the pocket watch we all carry in life, bridging grassy fields and concrete streets with alternating moments of tears and joy. Her language permeates pages and envelopes the reader with the squawking magpie, buzzing insects and the sheen of light hitting floorboards just right in the afternoon. Charlotte's skill is shown by making her readers pause, wipe away a tear or get a chuckle from the tongue in cheek humour woven throughout the pages. Silent Violence with Petals blooms with variety, but cohesively shows what it means to be human through life's big transitions: birth and death, love and loss, the quiet moments and the loud ones.

-Matthew McGuirk, author of Daydreams, Obsessions, Realities

A moving emotional journey from the dark bleakness of grief and winter to the buds of promise as spring breaks into Charlotte's collection around Hyacinths and Dandelion Teeth. Charlotte's poetry sweeps us through a year of heartache reflected within each fallen leaf, each unearthed memory and the everyday moments which strike you whilst grieving. A wonderful collection of beautifully raw poetry.

-Michelle Davey, poet and radio presenter

Charlotte Cosgrove's quiet, visceral imagery and subtle, resonant poems settle deep inside of readers and remind them of the powerful vicissitudes and perpetuities of real life. Silent Violence with Petals masterfully elucidates many common emotions and everyday objects with candid, careful, yet artful expression. Cosgrove's words demonstrate a refreshing and deep-seated concern for verisimilitude; each poem resonates like a deep breath in the slow passage of time, and together, they create a resonant and memorable compendium of what it means to exist in a world that simultaneously moves in such a frenzy as it pleads to slow down. This book will captivate readers with its humanness and honesty.

-Adam Chabot, poet and writer