"A.F.Harrold's poems are so immediately engaging and amusing that there is a danger of missing their depths. They are verbally scrupulous, exact and minutely observant. These poems are the real thing: serious about being human and being at home in the world."
Bernard O'Donoghue
"The poems in this collection wear their scholarship lightly, often with a formal dexterity that is deeply satisfying. AF Harrold doesn't censor his extraordinary and generous imagination; he enters the territory between this world and whatever comes after it, writing so clearly and tenderly about death, memory and love that I felt both bruised and stroked. Of course he cannot drive - and makes the most eloquent and delightful case for the poet as passenger: he is too busy observing, taking notes, with accuracy and compassion, never missing a trick, and very much enjoying the ride."
Catherine Smith
"The title poem of A.F. Harrold’s second collection presents with acute attention to detail the things most do not think of: the fate of fish after a flood, for instance, or the meaning behind a broken watch. Harrold is a recognised stand-up poet, but although still amusing at times, this collection shows less reliance on humour than in his performances. He plays witness to a mix of the comedic and the tragic, perhaps epitomized in a poem where the he expresses his discontent with receiving impersonal letters on Valentine’s Day... ‘Knot’ presents a similarly familiar setting, a party in which there are ‘little knots of memory and people – too sober to meet strangers, too drunk to let things be’. Most of these poems are written in free verse, with plenty of rhythm; but another stand-out poem, ‘Keep on Keeping On’, is the only one which actively bridges the gap between page and stage poetry. Another favourite is ‘Grace’, the last in a sequence of love poems, which is a touching account of lost love through the image of a fingertip. The collection is observant, thoughtful and imaginative, the perfect page companion to A.F. Harrold’s stage performances."
Carmina Masoliver-Marlow, Hand+Star
Bernard O'Donoghue
"The poems in this collection wear their scholarship lightly, often with a formal dexterity that is deeply satisfying. AF Harrold doesn't censor his extraordinary and generous imagination; he enters the territory between this world and whatever comes after it, writing so clearly and tenderly about death, memory and love that I felt both bruised and stroked. Of course he cannot drive - and makes the most eloquent and delightful case for the poet as passenger: he is too busy observing, taking notes, with accuracy and compassion, never missing a trick, and very much enjoying the ride."
Catherine Smith
"The title poem of A.F. Harrold’s second collection presents with acute attention to detail the things most do not think of: the fate of fish after a flood, for instance, or the meaning behind a broken watch. Harrold is a recognised stand-up poet, but although still amusing at times, this collection shows less reliance on humour than in his performances. He plays witness to a mix of the comedic and the tragic, perhaps epitomized in a poem where the he expresses his discontent with receiving impersonal letters on Valentine’s Day... ‘Knot’ presents a similarly familiar setting, a party in which there are ‘little knots of memory and people – too sober to meet strangers, too drunk to let things be’. Most of these poems are written in free verse, with plenty of rhythm; but another stand-out poem, ‘Keep on Keeping On’, is the only one which actively bridges the gap between page and stage poetry. Another favourite is ‘Grace’, the last in a sequence of love poems, which is a touching account of lost love through the image of a fingertip. The collection is observant, thoughtful and imaginative, the perfect page companion to A.F. Harrold’s stage performances."
Carmina Masoliver-Marlow, Hand+Star