Rooted in the South Wales Valleys, Talk of the Town is Jonathan Edwards’ most ambitious collection yet. With wit and musicality, he balances tender glimpses into the lives of his working-class grandparents with surreal portraits – a family presented as a dance flashmob, or an Olympic bobsleigh team. Bridges, nightclubs and hospitals voice thoughts on their town. Pop-culture icons Kurt Cobain, Richey Edwards and Shakin’ Stevens stroll past, offering their glamour and greatness, their yearnings and tragedies. Accessible, moving and energised by the language of the streets, these poems are love letters to the places and times which made them, to the wonder of the everyday and the open-armed characters who step from these pages, offering their unforgettable lives.