Pillage

This new collection, Pillage, is published eight years since Synapse (Mede-wete), which received the Hertzog Prize for Poetry in 2017. In Pillage Krog develops her familiar themes of family, body and land but this time in the harsh light of pillaging, whether being done by nature, humans, or old age. The poems reveal a painful fragility, an exasperation and even at times a blissful celebration trying to determine different ways of dealing with erosions, here and now. Then there is finding comfort, being nourished by remarkable moments of beauty: the delight of an egret in a vlei, watching over a young child who is discovering the world around him, and remembering the raptures of love. Pillage is translated by award winning poet and translator, Karen Press.