Communion

Winner of the Poetry Book Society (PBS) Pamphlet Choice for Summer/Autumn 2006, Jacob Sam-La Rose’s début chapbook displays the maturity of a poet who has honed his art through the time-honoured method of reading, writing, sharing, critiquing and rewriting. His poems exhibit a sense of awe and comfort at once, drawing the reader into a circle where even the familiar becomes new again. Critics have commented on his ‘brave and often audacious willingness to experiment with form allows the reader to explore an impressive variety of subtle relationships‘. What underlines Jacob’s achievement is the fact that he achieves all this is a small volume of 17 poems and an ethereal 5-poem suite – his tribute to his childhood pastime – basketball.