HIP POETRY REVIEW: Where Fairies Once Dwelt
By Jemia De Blondeville
De Blondeville Press, 2025, £2.99 All proceeds to
Hastings wellbeing groups
REVIEW BY PETE DONOHUE
Jemia De Blondeville has been around on the Hastings poetry scene for a good few years and our paths have crossed at several events. HIP has published some of her work on this page’s Poetry Corner. Now she has gifted us this delightful collection of lyrical feel-good poems in her new chapbook Where Fairies Once Dwelt.
Her poems here are divided into three sections: The Fairy Moon, Dark Butterflies and The Girl and the Dragon. The overall feel of this collection is an ethereal one, as might be expected from the title and section headings, with themes of nature, fantasy, surrealism and a little philosophy thrown in. Jemia uses repeat words in different poems – zephyrs, butterflies, flowers, velvet, fairies – linking us into the optimistic and childlike (but not childish) view of her creative world. She also explores different styles of poetry from regular verse through to haikus, an acrostic, a poetic prose piece and an ‘A-Z of British Birds’.
At £3 for a collection of 30 (10p per poem!) this wonderful chapbook, which includes photos and illustrations, is a great tonic to uplift our spirits during times when the world may seem overcomplicated and less than harmonious. More good news is that all proceeds go straight back into our community, namely to Arts in the Park and its wellbeing groups.
Where Fairies Once Dwelt is currently available from Bookbuster, 39 Queens Road TN34 1RE, 1,200 Postcards at 80 Queens Road, and soon other outlets around the town.
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