The Sparkling Jewel of Naturism brings together three seemingly unrelated poem sequences by ''this brilliant lyricist of human darkness'' (Fiona Sampson). The poems in each spark off unexpected connections and surprises, despite their contrasting concerns: sisters in Doormat (and being the object of someone else''s jealousy), little girls in Happiness Is Just a Waste of Time, and married women in Blowfly. Like all of Selima Hill''s work, all three sequences in The Sparkling Jewel of Naturism chart ''extreme experience with a dazzling excess'' (Deryn Rees-Jones), with startling humour and surprising combinations of homely and outlandish. ''Hill, more than any other English poet, cranks out angry, impotent, abused and richly surreal Britain. And she is very very funny…fresh, fierce and convincing… A mood-swinging voice, talking to itself rather than to the reader, shows how pain and joy transform the material world'' -Claire Crowther, Poetry London.
