Jo Mayers - Wearing the Coat (Review)

Jo Mayers – Wearing the Coat

(Self Published Chapbook)

Jo Mayers is from Macclesfield, a town on the outskirts of Cheshire

which I know myself from working there in 2004 and 2005

and states in her short biography ‘she started being a poet at

Marlborough School, but learned to do it properly at the

University of Warwick’.

This self published chapbook I got through from her at  Manchester’s

premium poetry open mike night ‘Freed Up’ at the beginning of 2011,

although she had been going there regularly there for most of 2010

(when I didn’t go for various reasons).

This Chapbook or pamphlet contains only 5 poems which could almost

be classed as an Single or a EP rather than a full length collection but

each one contains a realism that I rarely read in poetry, let alone as

well told as it is for example ‘How bad it is’ with a first line as:

‘We talk, all the time, about annoyance.

 I cannot understand yours’

This is a fascinating start to any poem where the two characters talk

and talk but don’t really talk about atall about lack of froth,

or the fad for red flip flops, or the admittedly strange dearth

of taxicabs on a quiet, rum-and coke type night’, this is poetry

which has a wonderful use of language which is playful but

still has at it’s centre, a message as the poem finishes ‘You

still care, don’t you, about our lives?’

Even more striking is the second poem ‘The Waiting’ which starts

With a striking bit of dialogue ‘I’m not waiting for you’ which is

Almost like it is leading you into a short story or a short play, before

It says ‘nevertheless time passes’ and two Beatles songs, you can

feel the disappointment with the poet in the air, which is drawn

beautifully into the cold pavement.

The only thing I didn’t like if I am honest was the fact there was

Only 5 poems which left me by the end of it making me think this

Would have been a really good introduction to a longer collection

and 5 poems simply wasn't enough.

Hopefully she’ll get to do it someday as there is skill here that

I feel that publishers would be interested in.

Jo runs a blog on Write Out Loud which can be found at

http://www.writeoutloud.net/public/poetview.php?profilesid=1472

and can be emailed on jo0911@hotmail.co.uk