Hail, The Invisible Watchman

Hail, The Invisible Watchman is a collection of haunted poetry by Alexandra Oliver that explores domestic and social alienation. The poems are as tidy as a picket fence, and the tone is set by metered rhyme like a chilling piano score. The narrator surveils social gatherings in Sherbet Lake, and the community members chime in, revealing their troubles and hypocrisies.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 80 pages
Publication date: 26 May 2022
Publisher: Biblioasis

Hail, The Invisible Watchman, is a haunting collection of poetry by Alexandra Oliver. Her formal schemes are as meticulously crafted as a picket fence, while beneath the charm of rhyme lies a vibrant and dark exploration of domestic and social alienation.

The poems in Hail, the Invisible Watchman, are as tidy and suggestive as a picket fence. Behind the allure of iambs lurks a profound exploration of domestic and social isolation. Metered rhyme sets the tone, akin to a chilling piano score, as insidiousness creeps into the neighborhood. A spectral narrator observes social gatherings in the town of Sherbet Lake, where community members chime in, revealing their various troubles and hypocrisies. An eerie reimagining of an Ethel Wilson novel follows a young woman into a taboo friendship with an enigmatic divorcée.

In her taut poetic structures across three succinct sections, Alexandra Oliver skillfully conflates the mundane and the phantasmagoric, creating a scintillating portrait of the suburban uncanny.

Weight: 132g
Dimension: 216 x 139 x 10 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781771964715