This quote from Girl, Isolated sums up for me why I love Trista Mateer’s poetry, because it makes me feel less alone. ‘You’re not alone in the way you are feeling. Listen to me i know you feel like the last person on the planet but you’re not. There are signs of life out there. Things are going to grow again.’

In Girl, Isolated Trista Mateer writes about familiar subjects like relationships, being alone, home, grief, joy and the pandemic. She uses sketches, handwritten notes, exchanges between poet and muse and poetry prompts.

Small Ghost plays Animal Crossing is one poem about spending hours creating a virtual home because there will likely not be an opportunity to own your own and this poem reminded me how easy I find virtual games to become addictive. That’s why I had to stop playing video games. Then there is a poem To a Young Poet about trauma, pain and not needing to share it all with an audience or ‘how many metaphors you can make about suffering.’