Notes from a Shipwreck

Notes from a Shipwreck, the third collection of poetry by Jessica Mookherjee, is a richly detailed and illuminating voyage of dislocation and longing. By turns evocative, unsettling, and full of 'small acts of magic', Mookherjee simultaneously finds the past, present, and future in the tempestuous, lyrical tides that flow through her poems.
Here, seafaring lore and shanties interweave with wreckage and survival, drawn by strong currents of history – where migration, colonialism, pandemics and climate change shape the course we are on. The sea is a territory of grief and transformation, alluring and dangerous, where safe harbours and landfall are not always certain. Mookherjee's enchanting, salt-sharp poetry encompasses the many journeys embarked on – whether seeking refuge, escape, or into exile – and consider not only the deep blue sea and its myriad mythologies, but to understand 'what makes a land and person,' – the keen human instinct to seek belonging.

Jessica Mookherjee is a British poet of Bengali heritage and grew up in Wales and London, and now lives in Kent. She has been published in many journals and anthologies, and was twice highly commended for Best Single Poem in the Forward Prizes in 2017 and 2021. Author of three previous collections from Nine Arches Press, her second collection, Tigress, was shortlisted for the Ledbury Prize in 2021. She has two pamphlets, Playlists and Desire Lines with Broken Sleep Books. Jessica has a background in biological socio-ecology and public mental health. She also runs workshops and mentors poets.