A Debut New Poets collection from Nine Arches Press.
Markie Burnhope’s Species is a debut collection unafraid of being vital and bright. These are poems that tackle the big issues yet do not neglect the small and precious details either. Burnhope brings both wrath and wryness to bear on inequality, ignorance and prejudice, and balances force and anger with nature, sexuality and love. The exploration of identity and disability and ideas of ‘otherness’ inform the distinct approach of this collection; the body becomes the territory of both creation and conflict, language the interpreter of its losses, pains and beauty.
Political and theological ideas ferment and rise in these poems, which though often serious are also ripe with wit, adventurous in their form and distinctive in their energy and verbal vigour. Species is radical and acutely aware – a rare and brilliant mix that makes for essential and important poetry.