'…The Hopeful Hat is a masterclass in premonition and departure... She’ll be remembered for big-hearted, socially responsible poems that are intent on change but reconciled to limitation. This is a moving book that feeds our yearning for hope, while also questioning the meaning of hopefulness.’ – Kit Fan, The Guardian (Best recent poetry round-up)
"No matter how compelling her themes, with their demands of compassion and political conscience, Satyamurti never loses hold of her main topic: the capacity of language." — Poetry London
‘Carole Satyamurti’s poems look to be stations on a road map of psychological discoveries, sometimes personal, sometimes objective and scientific. Her best poems are not so much confessions as meditations.’ – Anne Stevenson, London Magazine
‘Her unobtrusive approach is deceptive – these poems have unexpected stings in their tails.’ – Penelope Shuttle
‘… though shaded by mortality, it’s not a sad book, rather the reverse, offering as it does its own very personal witness to the courage of the human spirit—a spirit encapsulated by the busker’s ‘hopeful hat’ in the title poem.’ – Stuart Henson, London Grip
‘This posthumous collection is a work of impressive artistry and depth… what I find impressive isn’t just the precision and economy with which these poems are written but the stance they take, the direction of their vision. Instead of asking us to look at her own situation, Satyamurti looks through it at other people’s experiences and broader human meanings… Altogether, this is a book I’d warmly recommend and expect to enjoy over many years.’ – Edmund Prestwich, The High Window
'The calm, wit and grace with which she writes makes reading her poems moving but never depressing.' - Kate Kellaway, The Observer (poetry book of the month)
‘… Satyamurti’s lyric meditations marry emotional clarity with imagery that lingers in the mind’s eye.’ – Ellora Sutton, Mslexia
‘These poems are quiet, insistent, intimate. They’re plain speaking. Her canvas ranges from the personal to the global... The book grows ever stiller and more beautiful, for this reader, as it progresses. There’s something about choosing the right words, ones that will bear fruit and witness.’ - Charlotte Gann, The Friday Poem
