Plum

A wise, rude, sharp poetry collection encompassing a life from childhood to attempted adulthood, from one of the most important poets of the new generation. 'She writes with honesty, conviction, humour and love. She points out the absurdities we've grown too used to and lets us see the world with fresh eyes.' - Kae Tempest Hollie McNish, winner of the Ted Hughes Award for Poetry, has thrilled and entranced audiences the length and breadth of the UK with her compelling and powerful performances. Plum, her debut for Picador Poetry, is a wise, sometimes rude and piercingly candid account of her memories from childhood to attempted adulthood. This is a book about growing up, about flesh, fruit, friendships, work and play - and the urgent need to find a voice for the poems that will somehow do the whole glorious riot of it justice. Throughout Plum, McNish allows her recent poems to be interrupted by earlier writing from her younger selves - voices that speak out from the past with disarming and often very funny results. Plum is a celebration, a salute to a life in which we are always growing, stumbling, falling, changing and discovering new selves to add to our own messy store. It will leave the reader in no doubt as to why McNish is considered one of the most important poets of the new generation.

Hollie McNish has published poetry collections, Papers and Cherry Pie, and a poetic memoir of parenthood, Nobody Told Me, winner of the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry 2016. She co-wrote the play Offside, which relates the two-hundred year history of UK women's football, and collaborated with the Dutch ensemble, the Metropole Orkest, on her second poetry album Versus. McNish tours the UK extensively, and her poetry videos have attracted millions of views worldwide. She has a keen interest in migration studies, infant health and language learning, and gives performances of her work for organizations as diverse as The Economist, MTV and UNICEF. Her first collection for Picador, Plum is a vibrant poetry collection encompassing a life from childhood to attempted adulthood.