Drawn Inward and Other Poems

Book excerpt: Drawn Inward is a collection of poetry by Mike Maguire comprising four sections: Palindromes, in which the letters of each poem run in the same sequence backwards as they do forwards; Charades, in which each poem is spelled the same as the one next to it; Word Palindromes, in which the words of each poem run in the same sequence backwards as they do forwards; and Poems about trains. The poems are beautiful, humorous, and transcendent. Arguably some of the most exquisite palindromes ever written in English find their place nestled among equally gorgeous poems written in less familiar forms, showing that, even with poetry, perfection is possible. Maguire's wildly successful formal experiments ensure the palindrome its rightful place as a poetic form. An example is the book's opening palindrome: Same nice cinemas, same nice cafe. We talk late. We face cinemas. Same nice cinemas.