Forward praise for The Kitchen of Lovely Contraptions
The eternal triangle of childhood, sex, and death doesn't make for happiness, but if memory is indeed the mother of the muses, then it furnishes a rich and haunted house. In Jacqueline Saphra's case the house is full of energy - even at its darkest it remains light and brisk on its feet. Her ear is sharp and her eye sharper still. The heart aches, the shoulders shrug but the feet dance. - George Szirtes

Jacqueline Saphra's poems are simultaneously as searing, sexy, funny and cleansing as any poems on earth - she has the gift of the sifter mixed with the power of the big sharp knife! Do not miss these savory pleasures. - Naomi Shihab Nye

A strikingly confident first collection, notable both for its formal skills, and for the poet’s ability to explore challenging and complex relationships in memorable and agile language.  Here is a poet of the world and not of the ivory tower. Fiercely intelligent; a remarkable debut. - Penelope Shuttle

Jacqueline Saphra read Drama at Manchester University and is a screenwriting graduate from the National Film School. Her plays have been commissioned and produced by touring companies and repertory theatres including the Watford Palace and Manchester Library Theatre. She is on the editorial board for Magma Poetry and organises a regular poetry night, The Shuffle, at the Poetry Café. Her poetry has been widely published and anthologised and she has won several awards including first prize in the Ledbury Poetry Competition. Her pamphlet, Rock’n’Roll Mamma was published by Flarestack in 2008 and The Kitchen of Lovely Contraptions was developed with the support of the Arts Council of England. She lives in London with her partner Robin and four children.