“The Perseverance is more than just an anthology. It is a eulogy to the deaf, the dead, the disappeared, the silent and the invisible members of society who deserve more than so many of us have afforded them in the past. Reading The Perseverance has altered my perceptions and my attitudes and I have to thank Raymond Antrobus for the beauty of his writing and the depth of his enlightenment. This is a thought provoking, provocative and intriguing anthology.” – Linda Hill, Linda’s Book Bag
“The first page of the collection ends with the phrase ‘and I am able to answer’. This defiant statement signals a clear voice that prevails throughout the rest of the poems. I definitely felt a strong sense of anger and frustration rising up from the words, as well as some more fragile and tender moments: the final stanza of the poem ‘The Perseverance’ is hugely moving.” – Phoebe Williams, The Brixton Bookworm
“In places the verse is supplemented by sign, very sparing, but enough to remind those who don’t sign of the other side of the language divide. In others, Antrobus seeks to reproduce the experience of hearing, or speaking, as a Deaf person – the first poem, Echo, begins with the whistling of his ear amps ‘as if singing/ to Echo, Goddess of noise’ and goes on to recount his own attempts as a child to pronounce his family name ‘as ‘Antrob’ (he doesn’t hear ‘bus’). Echo is a kind of introduction, leading to the moment that Antrobus’s Deafness is identified and hinting at some of the themes of this book – for example family.” – David Harris, Blue Book Balloon
“The Perseverance is a poetry collection unlike anything I have ever read. In its pages it encompasses so many themes such as love, loss, grief and the unique life that Antrobus has lived. To read it is to be party to his world and his frustations, his realities and his relationships, and his desire to ensure that his history and those of deaf people is no longer sidelined by those who should know better.
Read it and learn from it, let it make you understand the way in which our society has not listened to those who don’t automatically fit in, and then like Antrobus tells us, understand that that we need to really hear each other.” – Clare Reynolds, Years of Reading Selfishly