X Coranto

by Kit Ingram

46 pages, Paperback

Published June 30, 2025

About the author

Kit Ingram is a British-Canadian writer and editor based in East Sussex. His work explores identity, desire, violence, and psychological transformation, and has appeared in Ambit, Magma, Acumen, Poetry Ireland Review, and The North.

He is the author of Alice and Antius (Penrose Press, 2022), an illustrated narrative poem described by BookLife (Publishers Weekly) as a ‘moving, gorgeous novel in verse’ set in a world shaped by climate collapse. His debut UK poetry collection, Aqueous Red, was published by Broken Sleep Books in 2023, with a second collection, X Coranto, published in 2025.

Originally from Calgary, Kit now lives in London. He holds degrees in philosophy and creative writing, and is the founder of Ingram Literary, a development studio supporting writers emerging later in life.

When not refining line breaks or descending into character psyches, he can usually be found chasing his golden retriever through the woods of the High Weald.

Reviews

[Rainer Allman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I find this a remarkable work that defies expectations and ready-made categories. X Coranto weaves together historical newspaper fragments from London's past with a present-day narrative about an unnamed young archivist living with an eccentric historian named Dr Molden. This arrangement seems part Faustian bargain, part Stockholm syndrome – unsettling as much as it is intriguing. And all told with a dark, almost mordant humour...

There's much to excavate – queer historiography, class consciousness, true crime, archival ethics – but what struck me is the form. How Kit Ingram interrupts historical documents with contemporary parenthetical comments creates a haunted, unstable reading experience that mirrors how the past is always erupting into the present. This is extremely impressive.

I don't think you'll find a book quite like this. If I was still teaching, this would be on my syllabus.

[Alex Tokhov · Rating 4 out of 5]

This feels like ideal reading for anyone interested in psychogeography, hybrid writing, or innovative approaches to documentary-style literature. The execution is ambitious and largely successful - it's difficult to put down once you're drawn into its dark, mesmerising world.

[Rick Polanyi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this. So original and atmospheric. If you're into books that bend form and uncover hidden histories, give this one a go. Grimy, unsettling & darkly funny. It will get under your skin!