Mari Ellis Dunning’s new collection of poetry, Pearl and Bone, is now available to pre-order from Parthian Books (released October 2022). My painting of Christine Keeler (Christine Mesmerises (2017)) is the cover image. Mari is also one of eight poets from Wales who I commissioned to write poetry for Dear Christine, an exhibition paying tribute to Christine Keeler.
From the Parthian Books website: ‘Pearl and Bone explores the complexities of the first year in the life of a pandemic mother, with the stories of other mothers interwoven amongst the author’s intimate moments, from pregnancy to childbirth and beyond. These poems showcase the lost voices of women through history – in the throes of labour, Mary paces the stable; in a dim Soho studio, Christine Keeler poses for the infamous Lewis Morley photographs; while above us, the moon laments the number of feet that have stormed her surface.
Beautiful, emotional and richly imagistic, Mari Ellis Dunning presents mothers in many forms: those experienced, chosen, unwitting, and presumed, asking us to consider the true nuances of motherhood – delicate as pearl, durable as bone.
Shortlisted for Wales Book of the Year for her debut collection Salacia, this is the poet’s highly anticipated second collection.’
https://www.parthianbooks.com/collections/pre-order/products/pearl-and-bone
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Fionn Wilson 
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