Sophie Sparham
The Man Who Ate 50,000 Weetabix – Verve Poetry Press
When you read a Sophie Sparham poem each word enters your mind in her voice. That’s assuming you’ve seen her perform live of course. Or at least met and spoke with her. What you hear in your head is passion with a Derbyshire accent. What you read is wordsmithing of the highest quality. The Man Who Ate 50,000 Weetabix is a collection of verbs, adjectives and nouns that flows as smoothly as the Derwent river on a spring day. The observations on life are astute. There’s a sense that Sparham is letting you into a normally private place (I hear my father). And the wit is sharp but also warm. ‘Like A Prayer’ has you rethinking Madonna and faith itself. More importantly you’ll be checking the bins at Morrisons too! Poetry is unfashionable they say. It’s lyrics with no music. It’s out of date and from a bygone age. Well think again because Sophie Sparham just made it cool once more. It’s words you put your own soundtrack to. Just make sure the vocals are in a Derby girl’s accent.
Review by Gary Trueman