C+nto - by Joelle Taylor (Paperback)

Product Description

About the Book

Electrifying collection exploring the underground lesbian culture by a pioneer of the British spoken word scene.

Book Synopsis

WINNER OF THE T. S. ELIOT PRIZE 2021
WINNER OF THE POLARI BOOK PRIZE 2022

The female body is a political space.

C+nto enters the private lives of women from the butch counterculture, telling the inside story of the protests they led in the '90s to reclaim their bodies as their own - their difficult balance between survival and self-expression. History, magic, rebellion, party and sermon vibrate through Joelle Taylor's cantos to uncover these underground communities forged by women.

Part-memoir and part-conjecture, Taylor explores sexuality and gender in poetry that is lyrical, expansive, imagistic, epic and intimate. C+nto is a love poem, a riot, a late night, and an honouring.

From the Back Cover

The female body is a political space.

C+nto enters the private lives of women from the butch counterculture, telling the inside story of the protests they led in the '90s to reclaim their bodies as their own - their difficult balance between survival and self-expression. History, magic, rebellion, party and sermon vibrate through Joelle Taylor's cantos to uncover these underground communities forged by women.

Part-memoir and part-conjecture, Taylor explores sexuality and gender in poetry that is lyrical, expansive, imagistic, epic and intimate. C+nto is a love poem, a riot, a late night, and an honouring.

Review Quotes

A New Statesman, TLS and White Review Book of the Year
'Joelle Taylor has produced one of the most astonishing and
original poetry collections of recent years.' - New
Statesman Books of the Year 2021 'A real treat ... inventive, powerfully moving work.' - The
Telegraph ★★★★ 'Absolutely incredible ... A celebration and a tribute to the
dyke bars and the butches who left their mark ... This is work that should not
be missed.'- Diva Magazine, Book of the Month

'Joelle Taylor has a
Midas touch with words. C+nto will open eyes, hearts and
minds. Here is poetry that defends our right to walk without fear, wear what we
choose, be who we uniquely are.'-Diana Souhami

'Unlike anything I've ever read before. Partly autobiographical, it excavates,
foregrounds and celebrates the lives of butch lesbians through the most
memorable and often astonishing poetry that is at once epic and intimate.'- Bernardine Evaristo Book of the Year, TLS
'This
collection is nothing short of a triumph, weaving emotive and expressive
personal histories with a sense of invention in poetic form and structure that
should not be overlooked.'- The Idler
'One
of the most nerve-jangling, painfully autobiographical and troublingly brave
books of poetry I have read in years.'- The
Tablet
'[Taylor's poetic form] lends a
rushing and head-rushing energy... This is solid work. These poems should be read
and appreciated.' - TLS

About the Author

Joelle Taylor is an award-winning poet, playwright
and author. A fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a Saboteur Spoken
Word Artist of the Year (2022), Taylor is the host and co-curator of
Out-Spoken, the UK's premier poetry and music club, currently resident at the
Southbank Centre. A former UK slam champion, she founded SLAMbassadors, the
UK's youth slam championships, in 2001 and was its Artistic Director and
National Coach until 2018. Taylor is the author of three plays, a forthcoming
novel and four poetry collections, including C+nto & Othered
Poems, which won the 2021 T. S. Eliot Prize and was longlisted
for the 2021 Ondaatje Prize. Her documentary Butch was recently featured on BBC Radio 4.

Product Highlights

• WINNER OF THE T. S. ELIOT PRIZE 2021WINNER OF THE POLARI BOOK PRIZE 2022The female body is a political space.C+nto enters the private lives of women from the butch counterculture, telling the inside story of the protests they led in the '90s to reclaim their bodies as their own - their difficult balance between survival and self-expression.
• About the Author: Joelle Taylor is an award-winning poet, playwrightand author.
• 128 Pages
• Poetry, LGBT