Reviews

Melissa Ashley is one of the most promising of a new generation of Australian poets. Her work, in its wide variety of forms and themes, is at the cutting edge of contemporary poetry; there is a shocking honesty to its gaze, alternately ironic, satiric, compassionate, yet always focused on the human condition, its texts and contexts, its possibilities and limitations. Here bleak realism meets the surreal imagination; here is a voice that is lyrical, compelling, and ultimately frightening in its intensity and effects.

John Knight, editor, Post Pressed.

Incisive and uncompromising in their gaze, Melissa Ashley's poems get under the skin to witness the body with all its wounds and glory. the hospital for dolls is an intelligent collection, brave, and beautifully written.

Bronwyn Lea

An engaging and multifaceted first collection with extraordinarily powerful poems, like 'home birth', 'The Hospital for Dolls', and 'how it feels to be force-fed', and humorous satires like 'Breast Diptych'. Ashley's poems are interested in communicating with readers, the hospital for dolls is an immensely enjoyable read.

Debbie Comerford

This is a brilliant book. Ashley's poems are rich, lucid and wide- reaching in their subject matter. The voice is at once lyrical and matter-of-fact; scholarly, witty, and earthy. These are poems which demand to be read and re-read, and reward all the senses with their richness and beauty.

Rebecca Edwards.

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