Blue Wren is the third collection by Bron Bateman: poet, academic and mother of nine. It’s a strong work, structured around a suite of Frida Kahlo paintings, then leading into the fierce territory of the poet’s personal life. The work speaks of love and loss, the pains and joys of the body, the challenging world of parenting, and of being a child in an uncertain world.
Bateman unflinchingly explores themes of family, feminism, gender, mortality and sexuality, collecting producing a moving and highly creative work. Language is presented in various forms, including free verse, prose poetry and magic realism. These honest, brave and hopeful poems constitute an interior journey that is well worth embarking upon.