The lost way

The lost way/De verloren weg is a collection of poems, written in English and translated into Dutch. Many of them reflect the guilt and anger engendered by the poet's Catholic upbringing in the mining area of South West Scotland. The influence of the Church is also to be found in the images she has used, especially of the crucifixion. Another theme is the man/woman relationship, sometimes humerous, sometimes serious. A number of poems describe the poet's experience of autism in the family, others concern her own aging process. Pemberton has used other art forms, painting, music and sculpture, as a source of inspiration. She enjoys writing in both free verse and the classic forms e.g. the sonnet and the villanelle. Because of the difficulties of translation there is only one example of the latter but the book contains a number of her sonnets. Her experience as a song writer is evident in the strong rhythmic character of her poems and in her use of both end and internal rhyme. She has written a great deal of light verse, a few examples of which are to be found in the collection. Pemberton has won prizes both for her writing and her performance.