May's Gutter Shout-Outs!
Nemidoonam, by Nasim Rebecca Asl
Recommended by Nadine Aisha Jassat
I'm loving Nasim Rebecca Asl's Nemidoonam. A power house on the stage and the page, she's brilliantly skilled in her use of form and her poems are just so, so good. Her poem 'Say Begu' in particular is a highlight, and one that encourages a claiming of self and voice while telling a story and pulling at every emotion. NEMIDOONAM is a pamphlet so brilliant that I can't wait for her full collection.
Commonplace Book, by Taylor Strickland
Recommended by Meagan Jennet
Commonplace Book is a beautiful collection that bounds back and forth across the Atlantic. Strickland nestles intensely personal moments within a wider, and sometimes mythic, context. Images of nature that will stop you in your tracks and have you wanting to pull on your own boots and go for a wander. The poems in Commonplace Book skillfully trace that quiet boundary line between ache for an old home and love for a new one.
The Blessing by Nancy Mitford
Recommended by Christian Maddock
It’s a good old love story about an English woman, a French man and their despicable son. They try to abandon him at the end. He sadly finds them.
Things I Have Loved by Sophia Hembeck
Recommended by Lauren Brown
Absolutely adored this little poetic memoir I found at Typewronger Books in Edinburgh. I read it in one sitting, just couldn't put it down. Beautiful glimpses of an artist's life, mixed with profound truths about love, family and trauma. Hembeck has a unique style and way of juxtaposing images, contrasting ideas and weaving it all together into one narrative that made me feel breathless. A true literary gem.
Loveless by Alice Oseman
Recommended by Kaci O'Meara
The book I just cannot put down is Loveless by Alice Oseman. It is such an educational and inspirational book on Aromanticism. It explores the importance of friendships and university live. Perfect for all ages but especially teens and young adults!
You Know Her, by Meagan Jennet
Recommended by Taylor Strickland
If the 18th century saw the last documented witch-hunt, the 21st century will be regarded as the era that rightfully began the 'man-hunt', so it seems. Meagan Jennett's 'You Know Her' is a soaring, nuanced response to the #MeToo years in all their justified riot. In the American South, female friendship between a cop and a murdering bartender unravels over moral justice in a way that made me question my deepest held beliefs as a fist-waving leftie. I was fully convinced by the sense of place and the crushing, clear prose which Hemingway would have admired. Please read this book!
Reading a book you can’t put down? Need everyone to know about it? Send us a recommendation (100 words max) and we’ll share it in our next Shout-Outs!