Piecing Together the Fragments

‘Piecing Together the Fragments’: Jo Balmer is an acclaimed poet, known for her ‘transgressions’ – translations of ancient literary texts, which go beyond translations in order to accommodate personal reflections and autobiographical moments. More recently she has expanded the field of ‘texts’ which inspire her poetry to include non-literary works such as dictionaries, headstones furniture. In a recent volume of poetry – Letting Go – she turns to ancient authors, such as Thucydides, Livy, Virgil and Hesiod – to explore and articulate her grief at losing her mother.