Modest Raptures: Poems

Modest Raptures is the latest poetry chapbook top be published by The Broken Spine.

Modest Raptures is from writer Ellie Rees and is the winner of The Broken Spine's inaugural Poetry and Prose Chapbook Competition (2022) which was judged by Alan Parry, Elizabeth Kemball, Jay Raffertry and Ellen Dixon.

About the Book

This collection of poetry was edited by Editor in Chief Alan Parry; it is the latest collection of poetry to be published by The Broken Spine.

Modest Raptures is a captivating collection of poems that invites you to journey through the seasons, emotions, and observations of everyday life. With lyrical grace, Rees weaves a tapestry of moments, each piece capturing a glimpse of the world’s intricate beauty and the subtle mysteries that surround us.

From the delicate interplay of light and shadow on wind-bitten primroses to the quiet musings of trees and the enigmatic dance of swallows, these poems capture the essence of the ordinary and transform it into the extraordinary. Through evocative imagery and vivid language, the collection explores the connections between nature, memory, and human experience.

About Ellie

Ellie Rees is an award-winning writer who writes across many genres including poetry, creative nonfiction and memoir. Her work is widely published in various journals including: New Welsh Review, Poetry Wales, The Lonely Crowd, Black Bough Poetry and The Broken Spine Artist Collective. Ellie’s work appears regularly online for Top Tweet Tuesday and she is a Pushcart Prize nominated poet. She has a PhD in Creative Writing from Swansea University. Ellie’s first collection of poetry, Ticking, was published in 2021 by The Hedgehog Poetry Press and her second book, Modest Raptures The Broken Spine’s inaugural Chapbook Competition for 2023.

Advanced Praise

‘In Modest Raptures, sparrows squabble, pigeons dance, the leaves change colour and the skies throb with musicality. These poems demand to be digested.’
– Mari Ellis Dunning, author of Pearl and Bone

‘Ellie Rees is a wordsmith of the finest order, conjuring images that stay with you long after the poem has been put aside. There are shades of Wordsworth and Coleridge here, from their Lyrical Ballad days, but whereas they now appear dated and stiff, these stunning poems from Ellie Rees are vivid and alive. I loved the personal touches which take the poems out of the traditional nature verse genre, giving what is seen and heard – and felt – an altogether deeper dimension. A wonderful collection, finely crafted with haunting lines and beautiful word pictures. As Coleridge said ‘The best words in the best order.’ Book of the year for me.’
– Phil Carradice, poet, historian and novelist

‘Modest Raptures is in part a celebration of the natural world and in part an invitation. Through her Thomas Hardy-like powers of observation, Rees enables us to experience her symbiotic relationship with the countryside and to share its sensory pleasures. She reveals an emotional connection with the environment that in the Twenty-First Century many of us have lost or do not have. Each season evokes a distinctive mood, a personal association, a precious memory. This world, however, is under threat, the cycle of the seasons has become less predictable, less dependable. Now ‘daffodils bloom/ before the unassuming snowdrops.’ Fields are clapped out. Hedgerows have been destroyed and disorientated birds collide with windows. Fragile nature is in decline and time is running out. The fine, layered and resonant poems in Modest Raptures invite the reader to connect with our natural environment and treasure it before it is too late.’
– Nigel Kent, poet and reviewer