Published: 06/08/2020
Exciting and accessible at the same time as being formally brave and lyrically skilful, Rachel Long’s debut collection skewers sexual politics and vexed notions of identity with wit, warmth and precision.
Shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award 2021
Shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize 2021
Shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize 2021
Shortlisted for the Costa Poetry Award 2020
Shortlisted for the The Forward Prize Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection 2020
Rachel Long's much-anticipated debut collection of poems, My Darling from the Lions, announces the arrival of a thrilling new presence in poetry.
Each poem has a vivid story to tell - of family quirks, the perils of dating, the grip of religion or sexual awakening - stories that are, by turn, emotionally insightful, politically conscious, wise, funny and outrageous.
Long reveals herself as a razor-sharp and original voice on the issues of sexual politics and cultural inheritance that polarize our current moment. But it's her refreshing commitment to the power of the individual poem that will leave the reader turning each page in eager anticipation: here is an immediate,wide-awake poetry that entertains royally, without sacrificing a note of its urgency or remarkable skill.
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 9781529045161
Number of pages: 96
Weight: 156 g
Dimensions: 197 x 153 x 13 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'Rachel Long is an enchanting and heartwarming new voice in poetry.' - Bernardine Evaristo, author of Girl, Woman, Other
'I loved reading these poems. They are immediate, accessible and necessary, but also joyful, witty and elegant. They tell stories we so much need to hear.' - Kate Clanchy
'A delight. It takes melancholic, surprising turns every couple of pages, with poems centred around combating body shame, sex and faith.' - Roger Robinson, The Week
'This debut collection is the modern poetry we need to read right now' - Stylist
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“Stunning”
A collection of stunning poetry, full of strength, covering themes from sexuality to religion, this just cries out of grit, reality , of female and power in being a woman, of her race, a powerful Black female voice... More
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“A Brilliant Debut Collection”
This is a brilliant collection of poems. So accomplished that it seems impossible that this is actually a debut collection.
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