Navigating Without a Compass
In ‘Navigating Without a Compass’, Esohe Weyden explores how love arises, disrupts and gradually changes shape. The collection consists of six cycles that together form a circle, guiding the reader through different phases of loving. From the first, almost weightless experience of falling in love, the poems move towards moments of doubt, pain and uncertainty, where closeness can no longer be taken for granted. Along the way, attention shifts to dealing with loss and seeking acceptance.
Weyden glories in sharp, ambiguous phrasing. Imaginative word combinations. Efficacious words. – Boekenkrant
In the final cycle, gravity gives way to clarity and reorientation, and self-love and autonomy come to the fore. Using plain yet apposite imagery, Weyden charts emotional movements that are both precise and recognisable. ‘Navigating Without a Compass’ is a collection about loving and letting go, and about rediscovering direction when fixed points of reference disappear.
