In Vitro

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IN VITRO is the debut poetry collection of prize-winning poet, Laura Solomon. It covers a wide range of topics:—the prophetess Pythia, England's Guy Fawkes, an alternative reality for New Zealand writer Janet Frame, earthquakes, in vitro experiments, spiders, tigers, vampire bats. The themes are universal. As Patricia Prime writes in Takahē, Laura Solomon is, "a tolerant, compassionate observer of nature and human nature. She is able to look into the lives, hearts and minds, not only of people, but of animals – using their thoughts and voices." Mainly written between 2003 and 2007 when the author was living in London, several of the poems have been placed in UK literary competitions and some have appeared in a number of international literary magazines, including Aesthetica, Broadsheet, Frost Writing, Sentinel, The Shop, Landfall, and the London Poetry Festival Anthology.

From Reviews of the 1^st edition

The poems in this collection range across many subjects, from those of day-to-day events such as being locked out of one’s home to the extraordinary poems about the Wicker Man, cartographers and Guy Fawkes. Solomon is a tolerant, compassionate observer of nature and human nature. She is able to look into the lives, hearts and minds, not only of people, but of animals – using their thoughts and voices. She is able to draw the reader along with her. These poems give us vivid glimpses into grief and pain. They are deeply moving. Yet they are not sentimental. Whatever she writes about, Solomon always remains connected with the natural world and is sustained by it; the sense of wonder it inspires shines through her poetry. She uses language powerfully to make us experience the world as she does. Together, the poems in this collection form rich and thought-provoking material.

–  Patricia Prime, Takahē, 74 (2011).

In Vitro is the debut collection of prize-winning poet, Laura Solomon. … In just over thirty poems she makes quite a number of bold statements. She hits hard and quickly and offers up plenty of excitement …. if you like your poems with extra muscle, In Vitro is the one for you. … packed with action and laughs. Christopher Morley once said "The courage of the poet is to keep ajar the door that leads into madness." Laura Solomon has begun to open that door in her very first collection.

– Hamesh Wyatt, Otago Daily Times, 21 May 2011.

This is an accessible volume from a poet who is clearly not up herself, and enjoys communicating with her readers. – Nicholas Reid, Landfall, NZ, July 2011.

I read the book cover to cover in two sittings, my hands gripped the book hard and my eyes were wide a great deal of the time. The poems are so fierce, clean and strong, exhilarating, it felt like I had to hold on tight or fall off…. it's like surgery with a pen.… every single page sings with something like the sound of saw-blades slicing timber… I loved this book.

– Raewyn Alexander, MySpace.