Unmaking Atoms
“Compassionate, poignant, otherworldly and profound: this thought-provoking, sometimes raw, collection is accessible contemporary poetry at its zenith of achievement.” Mark Logie, author of the poetry collection On the Road to Infinity and the young adult thriller Deadfall
“Magdalena Ball has assembled a delicate memento mori of our many subtle frames of reference. Her imagery is beautifully structured in heart-breaking threads, and redolent of her intellect, her warmth, and her love of text.” – Basil Eliades, artist, author of 3rd i and 50IV, and creator of The Men’s Deck
‘The writing is polished and brave. Intellect melds with emotion to soar. Readers will find talisman poems and refer to them again and again.” – Jan Dean, author of Paint Peels, Graffiti Sings (Flying Island Books, Macau)
To purchase a copy visit: Ginninderra Press or click on the book cover for the Amazon page which has both print and ebook options.
Review Excerpts
“It would be a mistake to think of Unmaking Atoms as simply a charting of the grieving process, however. These poems, while deeply enmeshed with ideas of death dying and loss, are also deep explorations of transformation; of what it means to be alive and constantly in transit, and growing within that process. As such, these poems are often also ecopoems, concerned with larger changes to landscape and ecology…” Ivy Ireland for Cordite Poetry Review
“Ball assays grief with sensitivity and skill in this deep exploration of the emotional impact of death. The poems are poignant but never sentimental and the prevalent references to science provide a unique counterpoint, keeping the collection fresh and alive.” Malcolm St Hill for Rochford Street Review
“Words fail me. These are some of the most incredible poems I’ve ever read…they capture the deep fragments of dreams, the incredible complication of close relationships, reflected in the complexity and beauty (and terror) of the natural world.” Ruhama Veltfort
“This is the work of an intelligent poet whose writing is charged with imagery and language drawn from the sciences. The poetry manages to capture a sense of our vulnerability whilst celebrating our place in the vast unknowable. It is very much poetry of our time yet what it evokes is ageless.” Linda Ireland
“These are pearls in words; beautiful images in beautiful expressions. They force you to think. There is a kaleidoscope of different ways, all pointing to the same theme. You can immerse yourself in each of 96 offerings like this — except that no two are alike. Each is a cryptic crossword in 17 dimensions, chasing each other out of sight, a carefully designed Rorschach blot.” Dr Robert Rich
“…matter cannot be created or destroyed, and this collection unmakes, and then reassembles, the words and images as well as emotions including the sense of joy that permeates Ball’s lyricism. That joy manifests in a “laugh that shakes the floor,” the line and curve that brings wholeness, a light “softer than the cut of love.”…We often create meaning, and different elements, by unmaking and reassembling aspects and details of our lives, misconceptions and words said and unsaid. This is the power of Ball’s poetry, especially in this collection.” Kristin Johnson
“I’ve admired the poetry of Magdalena Ball for many years and I was honoured to include some of her science fiction poetry in Escape Velocity magazine. This collection is a wondrous mix of passion, and emotion crafted in such a way only a poet with an understanding of science can do. I could as easily say as only a scientist with an understanding of poetry can do because you don’t need to be a scientist to appreciate these verses, nor need to be a poet to bathe in their prosody and richness.” Geoff Nelder
“Unmaking Atoms is a powerful and soulful collection of poems. From the first poem to the last, you can see the author poured her heart into this book. Her imagery is superb.” Karen Cioffi-Ventrice
“Maggie’s book, Unmaking Atoms is a great book and her powerful poems are fascinating to read.” Michael Strozier
“this, dear readers, is the beauty and the excitement of picking up a book of Ball’s poetry and slowly, deliberately, letting that science permeate you awareness of whatever she chooses to examine.” Carolyn Howard-Johnson
“A remarkable collection of poems by a remarkable poet.” Jessica Bell
“Magdalena’s poems are deep and poignant, and they really make you think. I sensed great loss as I was savoring every piece, so skillfully did Magdalena relay her emotions through her lovely tapestry of words.” Aaron Paul Lazar