"Hollie: Little Things"

14 September 2016

2 mins

Motherhood.

Like other contemporary art, modern poetry is a mixed bag. The craft is often well-disguised, which makes it easier for charlatans to fool themselves and others that their work has merit. As well as lionising the unworthy, this can result in the truly talented being overlooked, and no doubt some poetry lovers see in Hollie McNish everything they dislike about modern verse. All the more so now that her poetry has been used in a commercial.

But her detractors should pause to listen as the rewards are considerable, and this ad for the Nationwide offers a terrific platform for her talent... just as Jake Dypka's short film did, earlier this year.

This young woman is not so much a poet as a choreographer of words and her delivery is a perfect solo dance of pirouetting grace. Her moving description of the responsibility that comes with motherhood is joyful. VCCP have wisely let the poetry speak for itself and left viewers to create their own connection between McNish's poem and the advertised building society.

The respectfulness of this allows the work to breathe and maximises Nationwide's investment in a brave campaign.

UK

Building Societies