AustLit

'‘Capturing life’s seasons – birth to death and everything in between – and juxtaposing this with the earth’s seasons and the rhythms of insomnia, Kristin Martin uncovers what it means to be alive and connected to our world. Full of humour, warmth and heart, Paint the Sky is a poetry collection that will enchant, awaken and move.’ – Lynette Washington

‘Kristin Martin reminds us that rare moments between perfectly ordinary people are precious gems – and lovingly holds them up to the sunlight. With a potpourri of forms from sonnets, through villanelles to concrete poems, this collection celebrates the entire palette of life: “the occasional click of Lego”, the catch of the day after a family cricket match when the blue gum “had caught the moon/ and was holding it triumphantly/ in the crook of a branch”, “while the kites/ with an exultant whistle/…escape into the corner of the sky”. These poems are a panoply of emotions covering themes as wide as falling in (and out) of love, homelessness, insomnia, dealing with grief and even metapoetics with the memorable line: “my mind wades through the words I have become”. – Rob Walker

‘Kristin paints the sky with images of emotional reflections with hues of love in all its warmth and grief as found in relationships starting, ending or continuing in life or death. Her poetry connects between the earth and sky, writer and reader, past and present permitting a sacred space of sharing of memories and emotion.’ – Lilliana Rose (Publication summary)