Publisher's Synopsis
In WONDER, LUST & ITCHY FEET a fearless, intelligent and eager woman-mother, lover, wife and daughter-collects for the first time a selection of poetry from her first four decades of living and writing. Unhesitatingly she exposes intimate feelings and heartfelt values about friendship, family, desire, disaster, finding a home and exploring the world. There is disappointment and rebellion here; but also humour and wisdom. There is passion, pain, regret, hope; a desire to love and live to the full. The work feels powered by a desire to find life's joy, knowing that tomorrow we die; yet there is also a generous understanding that a new generation will take our place, live and love in their turn. Sally Dellow's deliberate use of simple language provides a counterpoint to her sophistication of structure, delightful and meaningful word-play, and entertaining rhyme. There is a wide range of reference garnered from rich experience of life and travel in many cultures and countries. As a poet, Sally Dellow has a highly intelligent understanding of the right words and concepts to express, and communicate effectively, deep-felt universal experiences in a highly personal way. Among the many striking and strong poems in this collection, 'Sand' is one that has the resonance of a modern classic. "Poetry looks straight at what the rest of us leave in the periphery of our vision: Sally Dellow, again and again, brings back our lazy eye to focus, precisely, on the nub of experience. Exuberant word-play and a singing ear bring music and humour to all that she scrutinises. Dellow is raucous, irreverent and achingly naked. This collection is all tender warmth and wonder, but hilarious and Hot as Wasabi too." - Martin Alexander, author of Clearing Ground and Poetry Editor of the Asia Literary Review"These are generous and intimate poems, crafted with language that dances on the page, borne out of keen observation and contemplation of not only life's most joyous moments, but also its most sorrowful, and at times, most frightening." - David W. Hill, Fiction Writer and Assistant Editor of Underground America: Narratives of Undocumented Lives"Evocative yet compact in its language, Sally Dellow's collection reveals a desire to grasp poetry-and life-by the horns. By turns lucid and playful, these poems are characterised by a humour and lightness of touch that enables both writer and reader to engage with issues that matter.//In 'Mottled', she sets out her perception of poetry as "hard thoughts softened by beautiful constructs; // Sweet sounds wrapped round pain". There is much pain, much sweetness to be found within these pages."- Viki Holmes, author of miss moon's class, and co-editor of the international women's poetry anthology Not a Muse "With an artist's eye, Sally Dellow looks at key aspects of life-the search for a home, the need for companionship, the satisfaction of family-and finds something amazing in each remembered detail. She selects scenes from her experience as a traveler, mother and writer, and presents them with an immediacy that allows us to share in the moment. Each poem in this collection contains vivid images, unexpected turns of phrase, and insight into what it means to be aware, worldly and human in the present day."- Thaddeus Rutkowski, author of Haywire"Wonder, Lust & Itchy Feet is an intimate journey; the emotional vulnerability gives the pieces their veracity. Tellingly, many Hong Kong poems in the Itchy Feet section declare an unavowed commitment to the place that she has made her home. Perhaps she has scratched that particular itch for the last time. -David McKirdy, author of Accidental Oriental
