Cynthia Sharp reviews Splendid in it’s Silence

Canadian Poetry Review
January 28, 2019
Title: Splendid in its Silence
Author: Jude Neale
Publisher: London: Spm Publications
ISBN: 978-0993503559
Price: £7.50
Reviewer: Cynthia Sharp

Splendid in its Silence (SPM Publications) is a must have. There’s a texture to a Jude Neale poem – power, gentleness, subtlety and truth all in one. Each poem is crafted precisely. She is a master of editing, as well as innuendo and imagery. We feel right there with her in the immediacy of each vivid image, from the moon as, “ice cream melting in a cobalt blue dish,” to a loved one “ready to let go of earth…and become part of sky.” There is so much in each mesmerizing breath, I’m reminded of the Zen wisdom, “A grain of sand contains all land and sea.” Splendid in its Silence is masterfully designed, every poem a gift of depth in an economy of words. Neale’s technical expertise with her craft offers galaxy after galaxy of delicious, life-affirming light. Highly recommended!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jude Neale is a poet, vocalist, spoken-word performer and mentor. She is a full member of the League of Canadian Poets, The Federation of BC Writers and The Canadian Authors Association, and the author of The Perfect Word Collapses, Only the Fallen Can See and A Quiet Coming of Light, as well as the co-author of Cantata in Two Voices. A Blooming is forthcoming in 2019.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER: Cynthia Sharp is the author of Rainforest in Russet (Silver Bow Publishing, 2018) and The Light Bearers in the Sand Dollar Graviton (Sweetgrass in the Wind, 2018). She is a full member of the League of Canadian Poets and on the executive of the Federation of BC Writers, as the Greater Vancouver Regional Rep.

Meet Jude at Coming Events

  • Book launch for
    Water Forgets Its Own Name
    :
  • Bowen Island, BC • Nov. 25 2023, 7pm • Collins Hall, 1122 Miller Road
  • Vancouver, BC • Dec. 3, 4pm • Canadian Music Centre, Murray Adaskin Theatre, 837 Davie St.
  • Book launch for The Flaw, at the Canadian Music Centre BC on November 6, 2022 at 3:30-5pm.
  • PREVIOUS EVENTS

  • Jude read from Naxos Greece on Saturday September 17 @ 1:00 pm-2:00 pm. PDT time. The event included Jude Neale, reading from The River Answers (Ekstasis Editions) | Shani Mootoo, Cane Fire (Book*Hug Press) | Alan Hill, In the Blood (Caitlin Press), all speaking from different places on Earth.
    For information: bit.ly/3d3h3AZ
  • The Bowen Island launch for Inside the Pearl was on October 1, 2021, 7:30pm, at the Hearth Gallery.
  • Guernica launched on Zoom Sep 12, 2021 - 12:30 Pacific
  • Launch at Joy Kogawa House, Vancouver on September 19, 2021 at 4pm. Jude read several poems from the book with photographs.
  • Jude will facilitated a workshop on Sunday, August 8: "Impromptu, Poetry Writing from 1-2pm on Bowen Island. Register
  • In the afternoon, Jude read from A Blooming, Impromptu, The River Answers and The Flaw, from between 2:30 and 5pm on Bowen Island. She was one of several Bowen writers performing at that time. More Info

Jude Reads Poetry