A Year in the New Life

Jack Underwood's poetry debut, Happiness (2015), was celebrated for its unconventional and daring tone: 'conversational, arresting . . . weird, singular' (Guardian). Such qualities are on accomplished display in this anticipated new collection, as the poems mature and move on to a wide range of preoccupations, including imminent societal collapse and public unrest; the limits, myths and complexities of masculinity and fatherhood; and uncanny, often amusing scenarios, such as serving drinks to a gathering of fifteen babies or group kissing in Empathy Class.

Throughout, incongruous and domestic subjects realign in skewed lyrics and thought experiments, intimately expressed in 'a new language / of the familiar' ('The Landing'). All is presented with a generosity and tenderness that makes the poet so unmistakable - and indispensable for the strange times in which we live.

 

• Author  -  Jack Underwood
• Series / Key Character  -  n/a
• Illustrated  -  No
• Age -  Adult
• ISBN  -  9780571367252
• Publisher  -  Faber
• Date  -  2021
• Format  -  Paperback
• Weight  -  85g
• Size  -  20 x 13 cm
  
• Pages  -  48
• RRP  -  £10.99

 

Awards: 

T S Eliot Prize 2021 - shortlisted
Poetry Book Society Recommended