Wristwatch

Jay Whittaker grew up in Devon and Nottingham, and has lived and worked in Edinburgh for over 20 years. She has written poetry for much of her adult life. Her pamphlet “Pearl” was published in 2005 (Selkirk Lapwing Press) and more recently her poems have been published in Envoi, Brittle Star, The Frogmore Papers, Orbis, and The Interpreter’s House. She was shortlisted for a Scottish New Writers 2016 Award and the 2016 Bridport Poetry Prize. One of Edinburgh’s Other Writers, Jay enjoys making the most of the city’s literary and spoken word scene. (www.jaywhittaker.uk)

Written from personal experience without a hint of sentimentality, Wristwatch charts a course through cancer treatment and recovery, becoming a widow at 44, and taking on the social care system on behalf of elderly relatives. United by themes of transition and transformation, the beautifully realised sequences in Wristwatch are moving, spare and convincing:Listen as the city wheezes,exhaling through its teeth:the pause where it stops breathing,when all I hear is heart,thudding, as I wait.("The Hum")