Lost and Found - by Vic Pickup (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The lockdown of 2020 has presented a time to think. To consider the good, the bad, the haves and the have-nots, what's lost and been found. This short collection observes individual loses and gains through a lens, seeing what's going, gone, and what unexpected treasures emerge as we walk this untrodden path. In a world of chaos, these poems help us reconnect over common ground, through the shared experiences brought about in these unreal times.

Review Quotes

"Vic Pickup's direct and empathic poetry captures moments, voices and relationships without a filter, finding that what is 'normal was more beautiful all along' - it doesn't need any enhancement. Pickup finds an intense, sometimes painful, beauty in a whole range of 'normals' - from one man's wartime grief, to a mother's sense of loss, to a dog's joy in splashing. To appreciate these many strange and wonderful 'normals, ' Pickup says that all we have to do is stand 'outside in the world and listen' for what seems 'like / the first time' - and that's exactly what her poetry does."

• Jonathan Taylor, author, poet & lecturer

"'Lost & Found' is just the right title for this, Vic Pickup's first pamphlet. In it the poems not only echo with things lost and things found, but through a refreshing and original lens, they see the invisible and speak the unsayable.

They are an anthem to humanity that focus in on the absolutes of life: war, dementia, lockdown, the need for sudden joy, loss in a variety of forms, and gain too. Even a daughter's toys imaginatively consigned to history reverberate down the years insisting their presence in a new now - a world seen afresh - without ever losing sight of what the poet holds true.

A stunning, thoughtful debut."

• Claire Dyer, novelist & poet

"Dylan Thomas said the mark of good poetry was language that lifts on the page and the poems of Vic Pickup's first pamphlet positively leap with the poet's verve and originality of expression. Whether the author is trying to resist the urge to jump into a river with a playful pup, taking delight in watching bird peck, or describing a gardener tending a perfect pink peony - the energy of the resulting poem is irresistible. This is a poet who has a rich palate to draw from, making each poem a vivid and luminous experience. A poet with great skill for both narrative and imagery. 'Lost & Found' is a joy to read."

• Anna Saunders, poet & Executive Director of Cheltenham Poetry Festival