Alexandra Melville's how small we are, how little we know. is a beguiling debut pamphlet with poems centred on a rich mix of themes including Tolstoy's War and Peace, cockroaches, Kandinsky and a poem, 'Hippo', which was highly commended in the 2021 Forward Prizes. Melville's pamphlet is humorous, telling, eccentric, a neat introduction to a poet of nuance and delicate poise.