CNUT

Evans' debut, Threadsa collaboration with photographer Justin David also published by Inkandescentwas longlisted for the Polari First Book Prize. His follow-up bears the watermarks of someone whos swum lifes emotional spectrum. Some poems barely contain their righteous anger within visceral verse 'The old are eating the young / in great Goya gobfuls'. Others, such as What the Cat Dragged Back, examine subtler sentiments: in response to your partner picking up a lover for you to share, for instance 'I rub damp fur, wondering / which disco dustbin / you picked this one up in / and how best to dispose of him'. Short and (bitter)sweet, this is poetry for a mobile generation, poetry for sharing often humorous and always honest about contemporary human experience. Exploring issues such as climate crisis, Brexit, gentrification and the rise of populist politics, these poems say more in a few lines than politicians say in volumes and offer an antidote to modern living.