‘In Moon Base One, Jemma L. King transports the reader between the sea and the stars; between mother and child; between the body and the vastness around it, so these are not separate spaces but part of the same orbit. King has a gift for writing in a way that’s relentlessly inventive and so often breathtaking. Raw heart, electric imagery and undeniable skill – Jemma L. King’s best yet.’ – Natalie Ann Holborow
'A masterclass in metaphor. From foetal spacemen to the ever-shifting landscape of the maternal body, here is poetry microcosmic and macrocosmic, intimate and vast, gorgeous and visceral. It moved me; it made me want to write; it was brimful of loss and hope and complexity. I loved it.' – Emily Blewitt
'Jemma L. King’s Moon Base One is bold, strange, gorgeously wrought – full of static and starlight, as well as strange beings and interactions along the way ... As a collection, it is impetuously imaginative, taking bold and daring leaps across space and time, which makes for a very thrilling read indeed. And, altogether, it is highly – very highly – recommended.' – Mab Jones, Buzz Magazine
You can read Jemma's 'On being a poet in Wales' essay in Nation. Cymru here.
‘A bell curve of grey static against black,
what new worlds, old suns burn here?’
Moon Base One is an extraordinary collection of poetry born from the most profound of human experiences – love, loss, and the fight for life itself. When poet Jemma L. King learned that her unborn son faced life-threatening conditions, her world unravelled. In his first fragile months, she turned to poetry to make sense of the impossible, asking: what happens before we begin, and what happens when we meet our most significant endings?
Spanning centuries and continents, this breathtaking collection moves through time and space – from the icefields of Antarctica to the Salem Witch Trials, from ancient Greek myths to the neon-drenched visions of Warhol and McQueen. King’s verse travels to the stars and back, interrogating the boundaries of existence, the fragility of life, and the fierce power of motherhood.
With exquisite lyricism and unflinching insight, Moon Base One is a meditation on survival, rebirth, and the ever-unfolding mystery of what it means to be alive. A cosmic, deeply personal journey that pulses with wonder, it reminds us that even in our darkest moments, we remain part of something vast, luminous, and filled with possibility.
