Do not be fooled by the size of this pamphlet collection of poetry - To Sweeten Bitter by Raymond Antrobus contains some extremely powerful and emotive poetry that grips both your mind and soul.
Within this collection Ray clearly explores the emotions of grief after the loss of his father, which is very hard hitting. He looks at varying angels throughout the collection - even commenting on how it has effected other loved ones around him. For instance in his poem "To Say".
What is also noticeable within this pamphlet is the journey that Ray is taking. In loosing his father he is on the path to finding himself, by examining his routes and reflecting on memories and experiences of himself and his loved ones.
The poems are written in varying styles and rhyming schemes which provides the collection with enough variety to keep the reader enthralled and engaged with it's words and verse.
Below is a video of Ray performing a poem from the collection entitled: Jamaican British - as part of the 'Chill Pill Shorts' series: