Charlotte Ansell's territory, from her debut in 2002, has been the heart. In Amittere, the heart is stripped to its connections - parent to child in poems such as Navigation and Poiesis; between friends and siblings in Dandelions and Twins; and to place. Beyond that she excavates how the body that holds a heart, perceived through lenses of race, ......
ARTICULATIONS FOR KEEPING THE LIGHT IN is an anthology of the work of the 2022 Barbican Young Poets (BYP) cohort. In a dazzling array of poetics and forms, ranging from prayer to the personal dynamics of light, these poems continue to extend the legacy of the decade-old BYP programme and showcase the potency and integrity of contemporary poetry.
Batman's Hill, South Staffs is non-linear sequence of poems set largely in Staffordshire, between 1961 and 1972. Quietly contemplative and playful with language, the poems derive their energy from the dialogue between memory and hindsight.
BEFORE THEM, WE explores the lives of migrant elders from Africa, unpacking the intimate details of their lives - their loves, obsessions and motivations - before the families they went on to establish. A collaborative act of sharing by poets of African descent, BEFORE THEM, WE is a revealing meditation on how we engage with the practice of ......
The poems in Katie Hale's Breaking the Surface are populated with totems of our wild, essential truths- from the raven bearing witness to death, to the wolf's dark appetite. Hale interrogates desire in its different forms and unpicks the seams of myths, folktales and fairy stories, offering them up with new life. A self-assured debut.
Breathe explores Fidel Castro-era Cuba; in nine stunning stories, Segal captures a fast-fading era with emotional brushstrokes. A beautiful example is the penultimate story, Leaving Cuba, with its haunting closing image of Havana's night sky; an eloquently rendered a tale of the lives of everyday Cubans: whichever path one takes, something is ......
In 'Catching the Cascade', his long awaited debut collection, Paul Lyalls presents verse that documents his long career as a performing poet, exploring the motifs of childhood, love, consumerism, second hand cars and his native North. His punchy, breathlessly entertaining poetry stems not just from a razor sharp wit but from his genuine love of ......
'Deluge', as with Charlotte Ansell's previous books - 'you were for the poem' and 'After Rain' - displays an unerring emotional honesty. Confronting therapy, family, as well as social shifts like gentrification, Charlotte draws perspective from the community she lives in and distils it into the poems that make up this stunning collection.
