Praise Poems, the Book of the Dead, Damien Hirst, God is Art and vice versa and verse’ vices. Striptease, astronauts, La Mama and what to wear to a demonstration—this is Ilka Scobie’s big world in a poem, a salon with the duende, a twirl through the Museum of Life. For her, the world may have been discovered by mistake, but it was no accident. When the Goddess demandz, it’s Ilka who spreads the word. A gift. These poems. Bob Holman Ilka Scobie doesn’t mince words. Hers are full-bodied slices of the English language: concise, forthcoming, relevant. A spot-on feast. Hettie Jones This is fearless, direct and provocative poetry. Edward Field ... poems marked by a sense of whimsy or nostalgia. Or, in the case of a work by Ilka Scobie, a little of both. Her poem was an ode to the New York taxi of yesteryear, celebrating a mode of transit now increasingly forgotten in a city where rides are often hailed via a smartphone app. Charles Passy , The Wall Street Journal Ilka Scobie’s Any Island flickers with memory, desire, and grief. These are passionate poems, unafraid of complexity—and ardent in their devotion to pleasure. Even in recollection, the quality of her attention is tuned with some kind of remarkable openness toward change. I love her presence, her love of presence, the intuitive motion and agility of her work. Kyle Dacuyan