poetry
Climacteric (Fly on the Wall, 2022)
Two print runs now sold out but you can purchase the ebook from Fly on the Wall.
Print copies may still be available at Waterstones, London Review Bookshop, Bookshop.org, Poetry Book Society.
USA orders here.
“I loved these poems. Jo Bratten’s work has a dark, foreboding quality but it’s also inventive, sensual, and caustic, with bags of attitude and fresh language. Highly recommended.”
Luke Wright
“For a book that is full of references to Gerard Manley Hopkins, Caravaggio, Judith and Holofernes, quotes from George Ripley and Christopher Marlowe, and allusions to Milton and Wordsworth, what stands out in this collection is the way that Bratten manages to blend and contrast the modern with the historical, and often in the same poem.”
Mat Riches, The Friday Poem
“Wry, questioning and good humoured [...] this is a poet who will not flinch at the task of what needs to be explored, extracted and examined. And the end result will shine like a clean bath.”
David Lukens, Sphinx Reviews
“Climacteric is a proper poet’s collection. [...] If I say this is a collection about how poetry begets poetry, I risk making it sound academic and dry; and it isn’t that. It’s human; it’s relatable.”
Stella Backhouse, Here Comes Everyone
“The pamphlet ranges across many topics: the body, our impact on the natural world, loss, sins, solace, having a shower and the meaning of rubbish. These often darkly inventive poems demonstrate a rich use of language and skilful poetic techniques.”
Sue Wallace-Shaddad, The Alchemy Spoon
Published and forthcoming poems
'Women speaking about Marlon Brando for 15 minutes' and 'Lapidation', Bad Lilies, 2025
'Old Drunks', Magma, 2025
'Wherefore all this wormy circumstance', Poetry London, 2025
'Crunchwrap Supreme', Perverse, 8B, autumn 24
'Despite what its appearance might suggest the moon still has a hot interior', And Other Poems, autumn 24
'Semantic Field', berlin lit, summer 24
'Spoons', The Rialto, spring 24 (second-place winner of Nature and Place Competition 2023, nominated for Forward Prize)
'Inchworm', Poetry Wales, spring 24
'Love Bites', Bad Lilies, winter 22
'Sky Pool' and 'It doesn't snow here anymore', The Interpreter's House, winter 22
‘Wish Bear’, Propel, autumn 22
'Fell' and 'Strip', The London Magazine, autumn 22
'Monstera', 'Fell (II)', 'Enough of science and of art', 'Toxicosis', 'Formication', Poetry Birmingham, summer 22
'Rubbish Day' and 'On Flood Street', The Rialto, winter 21
'Serious Verse', Under the Radar, autumn 21
'Solstice', The North, summer 21
'Scant Ground', Finished Creatures, summer 21
‘Underlying Heart Problems’, Poetry Bus, spring 21
‘I am so hopeless for the kiss of a’, bath magg, spring 21
‘Chiaroscuro’, One Hand Clapping, autumn 20
‘Epicedium’, Butcher’s Dog, autumn 20
‘Amulet’ and ‘Aarne-Thompson-Uther Type 310’, The Mechanics’ Institute Review, summer 20
‘Floss’, The Interpreter’s House, summer 20
‘In the shower with Gerard Manley Hopkins’, Ink, Sweat & Tears, spring 20
‘After Us’, Poetry Birmingham, spring 20
‘Caution Your Blast’, Dust Poetry Magazine, winter 20
‘Home’, Acumen, winter 20
‘Sunset over Watford’, Ambit, winter 13