The shaping of a mother - from urgency of maternal drive to discovering what nestles buried within the small print lies here.

Deep-seated longing for a child, when endlessly thwarted carrying to term, gives way to the joy of new-borns. Bitingly acute fears, sometimes tiger-rage when children are hurt, are forensically examined - through to the bitter-sweetness of their flight. The raw, organic, ever-evolving transformations throughout motherhood, are reflected through both personal narrative and more universally.

Once motherhood takes hold - there is no letting go. All within the nest is held as safely as love can make it, within that gentle paperclip clasp.

"a mother is a paperclip is a timeless collection with poems so alive to language they animate and vitalise the 'fulsome dark' of motherhood in all its joys, fears, and furies."

"Karen Francis 'nails it' for motherhood in a mother is a paperclip. In these poems the 'threads of life' are woven into a magical tapestry in which personal stories are depicted with a touching realism. Reference to Animal Myth and Legends widen the scope and bring to the fore a sense of mother as archetype'"

"This debut by Karen Francis reads like a love letter to motherhood - not schmalzy or sickly sweet - this is a warts and all examination of the ups and downs of being a parent (and a grandparent). Full of tenderness and innovative use of language - Karen takes us on a journey and keeps us right there with her through every small and major bump in the road - showing us that you never stop being a parent, however old your children are."