Catherine Smith is well known for her sexy, sassy and recklessly wise writing. Her latest collection is as unpredictable as ever – including as it does the spaghetti harvest and the drought of 1976, vegetarian hangovers, horse-racing, teenage girls inhaling helium and cats brought in a case through customs.
“Her scary, unsettling voice seems unexpected in poetry, and cuts her free of the crowd.”
The Times
“Catherine Smith’s poems are at once visceral and delicate. The mythical seeps through the tang and stench of the everyday and asserts itself, triumphant and strange.”
Sasha Dugdale
“Seductive and hugely enjoyable... a celebration of the human condition by a poet at the top of her game.”
Neil Rollinson
“A fierce talent.”
Ian McMillan
Catherine Smith’s poetry debut, The New Bride (Smith Doorstop, 2001), was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection. The Butcher’s Hands (Smith Doorstop, 2003) was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation and was shortlisted for the Aldeburgh First Collection Prize. Lip (Smith Doorstop, 2008) was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection. She teaches Creative Writing at the University of Sussex, and lives in Brighton.