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| Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid |
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Full blurb:
…and some things are better written down. Brutalist Adelle Stripe's debut poetry collection is a poignant chapbook that announces an individual new voice in modern poetry. Influences and inspiration for this collection are drawn from the changing face and increased gentrification of London's East End ('Asalam Walai Kum' offers perhaps the most accurate portrayal of Brick Lane yet, while 'Chequebook Vandalism' is nothing short of a protest at the ruthless economic re-shaping of a pre-Olympics East London, a place where "bankers with briefcases build their new temples"), out to the rural fields and hills of contemporary Britain (areas of study include The Lake District and The Black Mountains of Wales), and back to the personal space of rented rooms in the city. Though Stripe's voice is resolutely contemporary, traditional forms are referred to in the shape of sestinas, pantoums, terza rimas, and the sparse, wine-fuelled lines of early Chinese masters such as Li Po. Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid is a unique work; it is part confession, part protest – and is a self assured debut from a country girl (she is the daughter of a dairy farmer) finding her balance in the heart of the East End.
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First page first lines:
From 'Asalam Walai Kum' – a pantoum for Brick Lane
Fresh coriander drifts out from Taj Stores
Red beard man sherwani white robe
Green eyes glisten on Hanbury Street
Paneer rolls burn off the tongue
Red beard man sherwani white robe
Wraps up samosas stuffed full of cumin
Paneer rolls burn off the tongue
Where 'curry and rice' takes on new meaning
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Category: Poetry collection
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Author: Adelle Stripe
Some things you might not know about Adelle Stripe
She:
- was born the year punk broke
- is a poet, editor, journalist, copywriter and BA student at Greenwich University
- is an INFJ which means you'll either find her in disguise or in the kitchen at parties.
- was once described as "a bestial Isabella Blow."
- used to manage a band called Selfish Cunt.
- would “happily pin down Louise Bagshawe, chick-lit writer and Tory MP and shit in her mouth."
- once lured the editor of lad mag Front, Piers Hernu off the streets of Hackney into a bookshop where she was doing a poetry reading... in the window... strung with red lights... dressed in black PVC... Needless to say he was a bit disappointed.
- Hopes to return to the country to pursue a career in bee-keeping some time before her 35th birthday.
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Publisher: Blackheath Books
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Reviews:
“Outstanding. More balls and beauty than the entire Booker longlist.” – Darran Anderson, co-editor of Dogmatika
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| Book code: BTD012 |
| Price: £ 5.00 |
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