Poetry collection review: On Animals (2021) by Pam Ayres.

Today I am reviewing another book. This time I am reviewing Pam Ayres's 2021 collection, On Animals. The collection brings together all her poems from across her work that in some way include any animals. These animals include hedgehogs as featured in her poem 'In Defence of Hedgehogs', or 'The Seagull' and even 'My Sister's Cat Does Not Like Me'; both of which indicate the animals included within those poems. As always, Ayres's poems provide her usual and unique humour. 

Aside from Pam Ayres offering up her poems that come with the humour and the seriousness or the sentiment at times, she also included descriptions to add context to some of the poems. This is really liked because it gave me insight into Pam Ayres as a person not just as an author. This as well allowed for her to provide insight into things being different because attitudes around certain things have changed since she wrote some of these poems. There are poems in there that are decades old, with some featuring in her earlier collections from the 1970s, which I own.

The thing we all the poems in this collection is that nothing feels out of place and the whole collection feels as one whole collection, not just various poems taken from different collections and put together as one. The poems fit together harmoniously. Pam Ayres has placed them strategically well too, putting the earlier poems first. This made me it come across as just that little bit more special. Paired with the beautiful illustrations by Ellie Snowdon, On Animals is a joyous read that anyone and everyone could read, even should read. I am giving this a 10/10.


Until next time,


Thomas.

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