Crossing the Sahara by Scooter: A Collection of Poetry

This is a diverse collection. Variety is the hallmark of the poems. You cannot take one of two poems alone and become familiar with the poet's style. The subject matter is the most uniform aspect. These poems are about the struggle for respect, the establishing of a place for a sufferer from schizophrenia, through life on the hospital ward and homelessness. The stage is set with natural scenery: the hills and streams of South Cambridgeshire, the bleak but potent fens. A Welsh valley backdrop . The poet's characteristic affinity with Nature is manifest in the weather and the seasons. Her personal battle is fought out with thunder and rainbows by the elements. Not an impersonal photograph, but the countryside personified in emotion and spirit. There is variety in spiritual orientation, an eclectic but not too eclectic use of Buddhist, Pagan and Christian traditions, bound into a totally original philosophy. Ballads, songs, hymns even, a recognisable borrowing from the oral and sung forms, but also free verse, haiku, rhyme or not, the romantic, the modern. And humour. If you sample across the whole range you will build a complete picture of one woman's slow wrestle for dignity and connection.