“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