#UntitledTwo by Neu! Reekie!

Book Review by Ceris Aston | 30 May 2016
Book title: #UntitledTwo
Author: Editors: Michael Pedersen and Kevin Williamson

Neu! Reekie! – well, they’ve done it again. The sumptuous gold cover of #UntitledTwo is a gorgeous, shimmering temptation. Pause to admire the cover illustrations, read from the very beginning – or dip into it, flick through idly or assuredly until your eye is caught. There’s no wrong way to experience this book (or matching musical download of bands such as Hector Bizerk and White).

Described in Kevin Williamson’s Mission Statement as ‘a selection of poetry that reflects our own curiosity about the world and everything in it’, #UntitledTwo takes you through politics, sex, death and washing machines. It’s like an evening in the pub with articulate friends.

Makar Jackie Kay has four poems in the collection, all attesting to her brilliance – the loving celebration of April Sunshine, the witty poniard of Extinction. A new favourite Helen Mort cuts to the core with Advice: ‘You can lead beautiful to water/ but you can’t let it drink’. Alight for a moment on Kathleen Jamie’s perfect, poignant Ben Lomond; sigh or smile in recognition at Polly Clark’s Hedgehog, ‘a living flinch’. Remember to exhale after Michael Pederson’s Deep, deep down.

At times touching, rallying, insightful, playful, funny and shrewd, #UntitledTwo is a triumph, where Michael Pederson and Kevin Williamson prove once again their ability as curators and creators. If you did want to judge a book by its cover, judge this one. This anthology is gold.

Out now, published by Neu! Reekie! and Polygon, RRP £12.99