Let me introduce you to my new favourite book of poetry… Charly Cox’s ‘She Must Be Mad’. It’s actually the first poetry book I have read (hence why it’s my favourite), but it’s also such a relatable and pleasant read. The book is divided into four sections: She Must Be In Love, She Must Be Mad, She Must Be Fat, She Must Be An Adult: covering anything and everything from love to mental illnesses to bodies to adulting. Her tone is extremely refreshing and she has a beautiful vocabulary.
In my opinion, the best poem from the book is ‘bodies’. I actually watched the video of her reciting it before I read it on paper and it made the experience even better. Sometimes I don’t know what intonation to use when I read a poem, so it was easier after hearing her recite it. And the video is incredibly made so I suggest you have a watch. With her lovely British accent, it reminded me of a Lily Allen song. I also love her poems ‘Kindness', 'Resilience' and 'Whatsapp'.
There was such a hype around Rupi Kaur’s poems in the past year, but I sometimes found them too cheesy or too intense. I really feel like Charly’s poems capture the essence of what it is to be in your early twenties (and it’s also super impressive that she wrote it before turning 23). As well as reading her book, I also recommend you listen to her podcast interviews with Emma Gannon and the other one with Lily Pebbles & The Anna Edit to learn more about how she writes her poem and to hear her recite some of them...
