On Trampolining

When Rebecca Perry was growing up, she competed nationally and internationally as a trampolinist. This immersive and compelling book deftly blends memoir and lyrical nonfiction to explore a time she 'chose air over earth' and intensive schedules of practice. From the aerial views of English sports halls and international stadiums, to the texture of a fingernail pressed against silver beads on a leotard, Perry's explorations are immersive, sensuous, funny, traumatic and tender. In 'On Trampolining', Perry weaves arresting tales on pain, expectation, flight and grief in relation to competitive sport, memory and the body. 'A short, taut masterclass in poetic memoir. Beautifully universal about girlhood, sport, changing bodies, the borderlands of childhood play and adult expectation.'--Max Porter; 'In her elegant and intelligent meditation on the art of trampolining, Rebecca Perry writes movingly on pain, grief, love, and self-will. The beauty and economy of her sentences, and her frank but unselfpitying attention to the power and frailty of the body, recalls the work of Maggie Nelson and Gillian Rose, but is entirely hers. I loved it'--Sarah Perry; 'On Trampolining is a jewel of an essay, where like the most gifted artisan, Rebecca Perry reconstructs shattered pieces of a life spent loftily, into a fragile work of quivering wonder, of flesh and bone and sparkling clarity. I read it swiftly, holding my breath the whole way through.'--Inua Ellams; 'A tremendous, compelling read. It sheds light on a sport I know nothing about, and the pressures it takes to be even very, very good at something, let alone close to the best in the world.'--Rishi Dastidar