Wednesday, 20 February 2019

Hold Your Own

This book is a collection of poetry by Kae Tempest, of whose other stuff I've read I'm a big fan. Based on the ancient Greek story of Tiresias, the poems here are bound together in a sequence that follows through childhood, manhood, womanhood, and 'blind profit' - each layering continually circling, reflecting, with a deftness of social commentary and a relatableness that quite belies the ostensibly lofty or complex bundle which are hallmarks of why Tempest is one of the world's most famous working poetic artists. Feelings will fly in all directions and thought-provocation oozes from every page, as the fine [im]balances between subtlety and poignancy wrestle each other across the themes and narratives in recognizable conflicting archetypes that shout with a voice that is as fresh as grime yet resonates like myth. High among my favourite poetry books that I've read recently.

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