Hold Your Own: Poems Paperback – March 10, 2015

This poems touch my soul, make me feel alive, make me feel so much

More like short poetic essays this author reveals her heart, grief, depth and beauty with a subtle (sometimes not so subtle) dry irony. So vivid and layered. I highly recommend it.

Visceral. This artist’s work is all flesh and spirit. I don’t know how else to say it. She manages to smash entire landscapes and micro-moments (personal and impersonal) together that bring up all the right questions in the reader. It’s viscous and beautiful. All of this woman’s writing sets fire to my feelings, and shifts my thinking. Thank you.

To my way of thinking, this volume is an advancement on the themes underlying Kate Tempest's "Brand New Ancients", which won the Ted Hughes Award.That book-length piece reasserted a numinous human dimension amid the day-to-day degradation of modern life. In Hold Your Own, she takes a break from her recurring cast of characters to zoom in on that spirit side with intimate detail. Her poetry is as relatable as it is breathtaking.

I've recommended this book to every person I know and a few people I really don't know that well. I want them to get it, to be touched by it like I was. I don't want it to fall into the hands of someone who won't appreciate it. The myth of Tyresius becomes a look at all of humanity and society as a whole. The words are approachable, bitter, but so so well timed, so satisfying to read. Please, just read it. Stick with it. It will stick with you.

I love it, definitely get it, especially if you're a lesbian <3

Kate Tempest I think will be the next great poet. While she is known in England, I envision her becoming just as appreciated in the States.

lOVE IT

While I only occasionally read poetry, this writer is truly inspirational. A writer to be noted and followed over the coming years. She has insight far greater than her years.

This is an amazing book. The poetry is clever, witty and technically great, yet at the same time it is modern, relevant and entertaining.If you love poetry, read this book. If you think you don't love poetry, read this book - you will be converted. I also got the audiobook so I could hear her performing, and that really adds to the experience.

Oh my. I am in awe of Kate Tempest. Her poetry grabs you in the guts and doesn't let go. It's multi-layered and visceral, erudite and smart and yet ultimately totally accessible and relatable. And that is the cleverest trick of all. Even when she is referencing ancient Greek myths you can instantly identify with everything she is saying. I love the rhythms - they resonate deep inside you.I have to say that I am really excited about her novel that's coming out later this year.Highly recommended if you think poetry is somehow 'difficult'. It's meant to be spoken aloud, so I'm off now to find some clips of Kate on YouTube - if you're not sure, why not do the same?

Its Kate Tempest. This book is awesome, I followed her career from way back in the flesh but this is the first publication I have read of hers.Read it in one day couldn't put in down , I may have got more out of it then some what with being in love with her like at first listen,but every one will I guarantee get something out of this work of poems.There is something in it for most everyoneNotably she uses a epic tale of one character to highlight the liberal freedom and evolution of sexuality in people prevalent in today's modern society, highly relevant if you live in cities like London in these times, where it is more predominant, in effect asking the reader to see deeper then the exterior of people and presuming anything about them as a metaphor ?. Beautiful, deep work.Though one sentence I disagree with in the whole work " if your not fighting for it you don't want it" I don't fight and I want her

I have loved Kate Tempest's spoken word poetry for a few years now and I think anyone who has should definitely try her written poetry. As opposed to Brand New Ancients by Kate Tempest which is one continuous poem, this is a collection of shorter and longer poems together that I found all worked well together, despite some of the poems feeling slightly unrelated to the mythic feel that connects the poems. Really beautiful poetry.