'Siarad is a Welsh word, meaning to talk, to speak. In this collection of spoken word, prose poetry and micro-fiction, Reid speaks to the memories and emotions that move us through decades, continents and cultures. The collection pulses with images of stars and stray dogs, highways with no horizon and mothers with fading memories. Reid’s background as a performer and playwright shines in this collection of works that are as bold as they are tender, begging to be shouted, spoken, whispered many times over.
'‘Psychedelic. Startling. Alive. This book takes you to places you never imagined you’d go, and some places you’ve already been, but thought you were alone when you were there. Caroline Reid is a fellow traveller in a chaotic world. She tells a woman’s story, but it is the story of us all.’ — Donna Ward, She I Dare Not Name: A Spinster’s Meditations on Life.' (Publication summary)
'Siarad is a volume of poetry and prose by Caroline Reid, a playwright and repeat finalist in the Australian Poetry Slam. The word “siarad” is Welsh for “to talk; to speak,” and this collection is partly about the idea of the voice as an authentic expression of self. However, as the reader might expect given Reid’s background, Siarad is primarily concerned with the performative nature of speech: speaking as oration, story-weaving, lying, the telling of deeper truths, myth and fable, and siren song. Reid’s poems and short stories are allegorical in their impact: seemingly mundane events are elevated to the symbolic and the sacred.' (Introduction)
'Siarad is a volume of poetry and prose by Caroline Reid, a playwright and repeat finalist in the Australian Poetry Slam. The word “siarad” is Welsh for “to talk; to speak,” and this collection is partly about the idea of the voice as an authentic expression of self. However, as the reader might expect given Reid’s background, Siarad is primarily concerned with the performative nature of speech: speaking as oration, story-weaving, lying, the telling of deeper truths, myth and fable, and siren song. Reid’s poems and short stories are allegorical in their impact: seemingly mundane events are elevated to the symbolic and the sacred.' (Introduction)
