Medlars - Geraldine Clarkson - Bog

A rottenness at the heart of things, mapped onto England - London and other cities, the Midlands - and various narratives, manifests via apocalyptic omens and curses, and things being upside-down; an underworld and stasis. The aromatic and romantic Medlar (Mespilus germanica, a member of the apple and quince family), is considered inedible until 'bletted', allowed to rot. The collection touches on themes of xenophobia, Brexit and hypocrisy, as well as dallying in the English hedgerows, lanes and forests, sometimes with the English poets, in pursuit of the regenerative chaos and mischief present in nature. There is a fugitive hope of flow and change, breaking out of old patterns; a quest for sweetness.