I Tell Myself I'm Awesome

Joshua Seigal is a prolific poet. I think this is sixth collection from Bloomsbury Education, not counting another two jointly authored with Neal Zetter, and an award- winning anthology that he has edited. In this collection there are sixty more poems, on subjects as various as pets, family life, animals, the delightful vagaries of words, human moods and emotions, the process of writing and much more, peppered with jokes and wordplay and driven along, for much of the time in rhythm and rhyme (it can be catching!) Perhaps the number of poems and the variety of topics is the strength of the collection. There is enough here for any reader to find something to their taste.  For myself, it’s largely mischievous wordplay and tongue twisting that have the most appeal. Making a Name for Myself begins ‘My moniker is Monica. From Monaco I come.’ And goes on in the same vein for three verses. I am also taken with the pick up on the double meaning of Going Viral, in which an ‘influenza influencer’ broadcasts their symptoms online. If your inclination is to the more thoughtful and comforting, then try The Kiss, in which a child remembers grandma’s admonition not to wipe away the gift of a kiss, and how he carried it with him wherever he went. But ‘now I have nothing left to lug but my tears… I leave it be – like the kisses, the tears/are all a part of me.’ It’s a pity Bloomsbury have been so sparing with Chris Piaschik’s illustrations.