A review by zoenatsume1998
Sonnets for Albert: Shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Poetry 2022 by Anthony Joseph

4.0

Intrigued by beautiful cover, I devoured this book. Trinidad-born poet and musician, Joseph reflects on memories with his absent father after he passes away. I often find myself underwhelmed by poetry books, this being an exception. Joseph’s poetry follows a musical rhythm, allowing the poems to flourish and unfold with ease. The poems are very sensory, capturing and storing memories that are rich with smells, tastes and sounds. Such a style of introspective poetry is both rare and a pleasure to read. There are too many profoundly moving sentences and passages to include in this review, thus I would recommend just reading it. I also loved the photographs that accompanied the poems, they enhanced the immersive feel to his writing allowing the reader to reflect quietly on loss, memory and place.