All Together Now: Collected Poems is a single book containing Michaela Morgan’s published poetry. This collection ranges from her presentation poetry, poems designed to be announced and performed, including Words to Whisper, Words to Shout, to poems about animals. Then again, don’t some animal poems, such as I Want a Dog! merit shouting out? Then again, what about inspiration? Maybe something overheard, such as ‘piranhas in Guyana‘ to a classic work, like William Blake’s Tyger! Tyger!? There are so many ways with Food in poetry, from descriptions, to word play. What about Fruit Loopy, for example, or a Recipe for a Story? Then again, biographical poetry demands key points. Michaela Morgan’s is mesmerising. What about The Song of the Matchgirl, whose ‘friends have yellowed skin’ and ‘thinning hair’, for example? Not only is this narrative powerful, but it includes a stirring refrain, ‘So strike, girls, strike!/ Fewer hours! More pay!/ And no more fines! And safer work! Listen to what we say!‘ The range, vision, inspiration and readability are quite spellbinding. In fact, Bookwagon suggests that this small book, attentively illustrated by Nick Sharratt, is a fabulous inclusion on classroom bookshelves. We are proud to welcome aboard Michaela Morgan’s All Together Now: Collected Poems
