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The Actual
The Actual
paperback
Published:
5 October, 2020
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Description
Longlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize 2021The Actual is a symphony of personal and political fury—sometimes probing delicately, sometimes burning with raw energy. In 55 poems that swerve and crackle with a rare music, Inua Ellams unleashes a full-throated assault on empire and its legacies of racism, injustice and toxic masculinity.
Written on the author's phone, in transit, between meetings, before falling asleep and just after waking, this is poetry as polemic, as an act of resistance, but also as dream-vision. At its heart, this book confronts the absolutism and 'foolish machismo' of hero culture—from Perseus to Trump, from Batman to Boko Haram. Through the thick gauze of history, these breathtaking poems look the world square in the face and ask, "What the actual—?"
"This is what poetry looks like when you have nothing to lose, when you speak from the heart, when you have spent years honing your craft so that you can be free. This is what poetry looks like when you are a word-sorcerer, a linguistic swordsman, a metaphor-dazzler, a passionate creator of poetry as fire, as lament, as beauty, as reflection, as argument, as home. I was blown away by this book."
- Bernardine Evaristo
Prizes
Longlisted
More Details
| Type | Book |
|---|---|
| ISBN13 | 9781908058782 |
| ISBN10 | 1908058781 |
| Number Of Pages | 88 |
| Item Weight | 149 g |
| Product Dimensions | 138 x 216 x 7 mm |
| Publisher / Reseller | Penned in the Margins |
| Format | paperback |
Media Reviews
The Actual bristles with energy. The square lyrics, prose-like in appearance, are consistently vivid, whether Ellams is taking on the biggest of subjects – Shakespeare, Trump, empire – or ruminating on quieter, more tender moments.
Rishi Dastidar, The Guardian
The Actual is a heavy-hitting collection that is audacious and unrelenting in its topical preoccupation. Ellams is surgical in his writing and will leave you breathless.
Caleb Femi, The Guardian
Ellams' fiery new collection rails against the evils of the world: everything from Boko Haram to his father's aneurysm is attacked with passion and verve.
The Telegraph
A gloriously diverse collection, taking in social and political history, pop culture and love and heartbreak. Inua is truly a superhero, but one unafraid to be vulnerable in order to harness his strength.
Nikesh Shukla, Vogue
Fierce, fearless, unapologetic ... The Actual is an intense, artistic, highly creative, 21st-century Frantz Fanon set in poetry.
Hisham Bustani, The Lonely Crowd
These are poems that sink and dive and swoop ... Ellams reckons with mythology, empire, constructs and their power, realigning their narratives, focusing our gaze on their consequences.
Seán Hewitt, The Irish Times
Author's Bio
Born in Nigeria, Inua Ellams is a UK-based poet, playwright and performer who has written for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, and the BBC. His latest play, an adaptation of Chekhov’s Three Sisters set in Nigeria, is on at the National Theatre until 19th February 2020. The Actual is his fourth poetry release.