Caroline Carver’s latest publication, ju ju baby has just been published by Indigo Dreams Publishing as part of their pamphlet series.
Caroline won the National Poetry Prize in 1998 and since then has published five collections, Jigharzi An Me, Semicolon Press (in West Indian dialect), Bone-Fishing, Peterloo Poets, Three Hares, Oversteps Books, Tikki Tikki Man, Ward Wood, Fish Eaters, Plymouth Univeristy Press… and now ju ju baby.
As with Caroline’s other publications, ju ju baby has richly painted characters who step out of the book and look the reader directly in the eye. Their stories are deeply moving from the very beginning and tension rises throughout the narrative until your skin tingles:
ju ju sits on his new bed
draws a line in his book
thin as a filament of life
(looking for the wind)
I watch you
roll on the ground
as if it belongs to you
(burial ground)
the child looks out of the window
sees smoke soldiers dragons
he looks at his parents sees threads of feeling
worn thin at the elbows
(dragons)
In his endorsement Michael Swan sums up this book in a much better way than I can:
“Caroline Carver not only creates myth; she uses it in startling ways to illuminate reality, without letting either have the last word. ju ju baby is a remarkable work by a remarkable writer.”
Abegail Morley 
Beautiful poems. This makes me want to read more, a lot more of Caroline’s work. Kerry
I read the poem here, and also the ones posted at Caroline’s “ju ju baby” site at Indigo. The poems and their mythology and characters are exciting and very “real” – a reminder of the power of imagination and storytelling in the hands of a skilled poet.
Caroline came to Exeter a couple of weeks ago and read from ju ju baby and the Fish Eaters. Really good and what a nice woman. Both publications beautifully produced as well.