Tonguit

by Harry Giles

Giles, Harry. Tonguit. Glasgow, Freight Poetry, 2015. 13 cm x 19,8 cm. 68 pages. Original Softcover. Excellent, close to new condition. Loosely inserted is an original press-release for this publication. Includes for example the following Slash poem in which Harry Giles meets Harry Styles / Song for a Lover as Magicicada / Piazza dei Miracoli / The Hairdest Man in Govanhill etc etc. Harry Giles grew up in Orkney and is now based in Edinburgh, where he works as a poet, producer and performance artist. He holds an MA in Theatre Directing from East 15 Acting School, and in 2010 he founded the spoken word events series Inky Fingers, which he continues to help run. Harry’s pamphlet Visa Wedding was published by Stewed Rhubarb Press in November 2012. He has won and been nominated for a number of awards, both for his performances and printed poetry. In 2008 he won the National Student Slam, and in 2009 the BBC Scotland Slam. He was nominated for the London Zoo Award for best performance by a UK poet in 2011, and the following year he won the national Ideas Tap Poetry Competition and was nominated for the Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award. He was the Govanhill Baths Artist-in Residence in 2013. (Wikipedia).

Genres: Poetry

69 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2015

Reviews

[Carrie Etter]

See my forthcoming review in The Guardian, where I'm reviewing this book as well as the four others on the Forward first collection prize for poetry shortlist for 2016.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic collection from an incredibly exciting poet. Necessarily political and lyrical in equal measure.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found some of the Scottish language poems in this collection difficult to get a handle on - but that is my problem and not a fault of the collection. There are some outstanding poems in this collection and a powerful political undercurrent. I can see why it was shortlisted for the Forward Prize.