The Wasting Game by Philip Gross

The Wasting Game

Philip Gross

There are some very powerful images of anorexia in this collection. Other topics include post-Communist Estonia, caves and wildfowl. The poems are atmospheric and lyrical but they present a bleak view.

Extract
Curled like a lip, a crust dries in the bin,
the supermodel's come-on-don't-touch sneer
for the camera - desire
caught, teased, time and again

till all the wants run dry
and there's only this rictus,
a cat raking claws
down the arm of the chair

from The Wasting Game

Parallels
  • Dressing up for the Carnival by Carol Shields
  • Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels
  • Sad Bastard by Hugo Hamilton