Breeze Block by Jake Hawkey

“Breeze Block is a striking collection, asking its reader to engage with its electrifying juxtapositions of a multitude of realities. Here, a line break, stanza break, not once, but on many occasions sends a shiver down your spine—each line being of such staggering beauty. Hawkey has devoted himself to erudition and sophistication, drawing his inspiration from the likes of Rembrandt, Rothko and Jesus’s donkey. There is definitely a sense of an ending that lingers throughout—from hospital wards to a number of romances to a dead goldfish—yet this is a journey that the reader will never wish to end. As much as Breeze Block is rooted in urban realities, taking us on many London roads and landscapes, evoking a sense of growing up in ‘a city where you cannot leave but you cannot stay’; it is a testimony on how we grapple with grief in these times bereft of hope.” - Supriya Kaur Dhaliwal, author of The Yak Dilemma