‘Maya Caspari's Almost, with Tenderness offers a true poetics of intimacy. To read these fantastically textured yet accessible poems is to become immersed in a breathable, humming environment. Forget about "show, don't tell"; here we're mid-story, inside "feel, don't say". It's always possible that things might turn out otherwise. How did it happen that far-flung elders met and fell in love? Hot-moaning boats balance out taciturn children. Tenderness manifests, both surreal and hyperreal. Will domestic Morse code go undeciphered? Foals may sing in this city collection that teems with life that closes in, that holds, that distances: businessmen, lizards, red peppers, museum cases. Caspari doesn't shy away from the topics of migration, domestic violence, and vampiric bureaucracy. A youthful, unsparing intelligence distinguishes the almostness of this book. Each poem knows itself as a language-event in formation, refusing to be trapped, sometimes willing to be caught up. Will you love, as much as I do, the grandmother who is an astronomer in reverse, looking at gardens through a microscope? The era of 'lone genius' poetry seems far-distant from this volume, where family is a given, yet never taken for granted. Caspari's work will ease you into the most lovable negotiations, but it will never 'settle'. This is brilliant. ‘ — Anthony V. Capildeo

‘Almost, with Tenderness is a reckoning with the unspoken. With this debut pamphlet, Maya Caspari offers us glimpses of beauty and devastation in her lyric exploration of a family lost in time. A stunning new voice.’ — Charlotte Shevchenko Knight

Maya Caspari is a poet, researcher, and curator, based in London. Her poetry has been published in magazines including Ambit, Butcher’s Dog, The Poetry Review, Perverse, Propel and Wasafiri. She has been highly commended in the Forward Prizes, longlisted in National Poetry Competition, and shortlisted for the Aesthetica Creative Writing Award. She is a Lecturer at the University of York. Almost, with Tenderness is her debut pamphlet.