A Poetry Book Society translation choice, Summer 2025
The River Seine is an unlikely goddess, keeper of secrets and source of hope in Jessica Taggart Rose’s debut pamphlet collection. Plunging us into the artery that runs through the heart of Paris, Rose explores the relationships between the human and non-human, between past and present, between water and sky. The poems question what it means to inhabit any ecosystem, especially during environmental and social crises. Transparent, musical and immersive.
Launched in December 2024 in Europe and June 2025 in the UK, this book from The New Menard Press is a bilingual collaboration, presenting Jessica’s original poetry in English, alongside the French translation from Claire Durand-Gasselin.
‘A sensory delight . . . a stirring, refreshing read’
— Roger Robinson, winner of 2019 T.S. Eliot Prize for A Portable Paradise
‘Beautiful . . . an eloquent and humane witness to difficult times’
— David Herd, Professor of Literature, St Andrews
‘Takes us into the heart of Paris through its main artery — the Seine’
— Maggie Harris, twice winner of Guyana Prize for Literature
‘These powerfully observed poems . . . are essential meditations on water’s divine role’
— Jacqueline Saphra, Aldeburgh Prize and T.S. Eliot Prize-shortlisted poet
‘If a steadfastness of gaze is one of the chief markers of moving eco-poetry, this debut contains it, while wending its way beyond it…’
— Shivanee N. Ramlochan, Poet and Essayist
Read Shivanee N. Ramlochan’s Poetry Book Society review.
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Find out more about Jess.
Jessica Taggart Rose - poet 