The Saints are Coming is a thoroughly entertaining gazetteer of the lesser-known Saints. Jackson takes us on a wild, compelling tour of saints many of us wouldn’t believe could possibly exist – St. Isidore, of Computer Programmers; St Clotilde, of Disappointing Children and even poor St Fiacre, Patron Saint of Haemorrhoid Sufferers. The poems are by turns comedic, entertaining and illuminating but, crucially, they are also consistently moving. Indeed what raises this book to another level is the formal precision and meticulous skill with which Jackson has built the individual poems. This collection is serious poetry, at times seriously funny, to be seriously enjoyed – an unmissable addition to the poetic canon. (John Glenday)
 
There's a certain joy to finding out that computer programmers and comedians even have a patron saint, let alone imagining how they would express themselves. St Edmund's apposite pantoum against pandemics ("what goes around comes around"), the conclave of the twelve patrons of shepherding, arguing over details until someone recalls their actual purpose ("the sheep the sheep which of us was watching the sheep"), the train drivers left to find their way, unaided by any saint, to unlikely destinations – "West Moribund" really ought to exist on a map. The variety of form and tone in this assembly skilfully reflects the variety of occupations and concerns among the saints. (Sheenagh Pugh)