Valentina Terrinoni is the Editor of Scrittura Magazine, which supports new writing and is looking at the 11th issue.
Digging Holes To Another Continent
By Isabelle Kenyon
Isabelle Kenyon’s autobiographical collection touches on some of life’s most intimate moments: loss, grief, loneliness and finding oneself, all of which encapsulate what it truly means to be human, and it is this which resonates most.
The aptly titled The Journey launches us in, and within three lines we’re hit with the loss of a pet and ‘Mum’, feeding perfectly the dominant themes of the collection. Wave Meditation follows, setting up the central metaphor - the juxtaposition of a new world, nature and Kenyon’s emotions - which is beautifully presented and particularly satisfying here as the ‘rhythmic crashes’ of the waves mimic the overwhelmed state of the Kenyon’s mind.
He Married a Faith Healer feeds the feelings of grief and loneliness, while Beach Thoughts continues the clever metaphorical language use with ‘pebbled words’ and ‘seaweed tongue’ conveying the bitter decline of a relationship. Rock Cavern plunges us into the ‘grabbing hands’ of ‘hellfires’ in climactic force, leading us to The End/ The Beginning, a sobering reminder that while life moves on it is a cycle which loops back, rendering new heartbreaks on top of old; there’s still ‘no wagging tail’, and now an empty nest leaving us ‘more broken than we started.’
A poignant and thought-provoking, intimate collection; I particularly loved the fusion of nature and emotion, which is beautifully captured by Kenyon.
About Valentina:
Valentina graduated in 2013 with BA Hons English Literature with English Language and Creative Writing, and completed her Masters in Creative Writing in 2018. As an undergraduate, Valentina took up the role of Editor-in-Chief of the University’s student newspaper. She works as a Marketing Assistant by day, Digital Content Editor by night and is a reader for Structo Magazine. She is currently working on her first novel, 'Greenacres Academy'.