Helen Dunmore (1952–2017) published
Inside the Wave, her final work, on 27 April 2017, just over a month before her death. The poems reflect on her coming death and her diagnosis with cancer. The collection contains 48 poems, including 5 "Versions from
Catullus", a Roman poet, and three poems that relate to
Homer's
Odyssey, the eponymous "Inside the Wave", describing
Odysseus back home from his travels, "Odysseus to
Elpenor" and "My Daughter as
Penelope". The last poem in the collection, "Hold out your arms", is addressed to death,
personified as a mother. It was written 10 days before her death, and was added to the collection for the second impression of the book, published in June 2017. It begins: The collection was featured on BBC Radio 4's
A Good Read in November 2020. ==References==