This post contains affiliate links.
On The Table Read Magazine, “the best entertainment eBook magazine UK“, Marco Di Chio’s IAMBIC, a debut poetry collection released on September 4, 2025, weaves lyrical beauty and chilling horror in hypnotic iambic meter, immersing readers in a haunting journey through love, memory, and the uncanny.
IAMBIC
On September 4, 2025, Marco Di Chio’s debut poetry collection, IAMBIC – A Collection of Lyrical and Terrifying Poems, will be released, inviting readers into a world where the ancient pulse of English verse beats through landscapes of love, fear, and the uncanny. Written entirely in iambic meter, this evocative collection blends the precision of classical form with a modern, cinematic voice, creating a rhythmic journey that is as tender as it is unsettling.

IAMBIC pulses with the timeless rhythm of English poetry, each line a heartbeat of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables, echoing the meter of Shakespeare and Milton. Yet Di Chio’s work is no mere homage to tradition—it is a bold reinvention, weaving lyrical intimacy with haunting narrative. His poems traverse ghostly forests, shifting mirrors, abandoned houses, and the restless streets of Glasgow, speaking of longing, death, memory, and madness, often within a single breath. This is poetry that demands to be heard, felt, and, at times, feared.

A Tapestry of Beauty and Terror
Di Chio’s collection alternates between tender lyricism and chilling horror, offering an accessible yet sophisticated experience for both seasoned poetry lovers and newcomers. His hypnotic language captures the quiet rhythm of daily walks with his dog Lola in Cadder Woods, the restless energy of Glasgow’s urban pulse, and the stillness of the Clyde Canal. Other poems delve inward, tracing personal grief, philosophical reflections on time, and the weight of memory. Interwoven are imaginative fairy tales—where animals and trees debate philosophy along the canal’s shores—and unsettling horror stories told in precise iambic lines, their power drawn from Di Chio’s keen observation of lived experience.
The iambic meter, far from an academic exercise, serves as the collection’s heartbeat, carrying readers through every shade of emotion. Di Chio’s disciplined craft amplifies the emotional depth of his work, proving that the ancient rhythms of English verse still speak urgently to our time. As he guides readers through these vivid landscapes, the line between beauty and terror blurs, creating a world that is both enchanting and disquieting.
Marco Di Chio
Italian-born and now a decade-long resident of Glasgow, Marco Di Chio brings a unique perspective to IAMBIC. Raised in Verona amid its operatic heritage, he developed a lifelong passion for rhythm, language, and imagery. His writing seamlessly blends the precision of classical form with the immediacy of modern storytelling, capturing the full spectrum of human experience. Drawing inspiration from Glasgow’s urban and natural landscapes, as well as music, history, and personal memory, Di Chio crafts a voice that is disciplined yet emotionally rich, unafraid to explore both beauty and darkness.
In IAMBIC, I wanted to create poems that move you as much as they haunt you—blending personal, lyrical reflections with moments of cinematic horror. The poems explore love, queerness, memory, and fear, and aim to pull readers into worlds so vivid they feel almost like dreams, or nightmares, that stay with you long after reading.
-Marco Di Chio

A Collection That Lingers
IAMBIC is more than a poetry collection—it is an immersive experience that lingers long after the final page. With its cinematic imagery, rhythmic precision, and fearless exploration of the human condition, Di Chio’s debut confirms his place as a distinctive new voice in contemporary poetry. This is not just poetry to be read; it is poetry to be inhabited. Once entered, it doesn’t let you go.
IAMBIC – A Collection of Lyrical and Terrifying Poems will be available from September 4, 2025. For readers seeking language that marries technical mastery with emotional depth, this collection is a must-read, proving that the ancient pulse of iambic meter still resonates in our modern world.
Find more from Marco Di Chio now:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/47saMZr
Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/iambic/marco-di-chio/9781836153580
We strive to keep The Table Read free for both our readers and our contributors. If you have enjoyed our work, please consider donating to help keep The Table Read going!
