Badminton

by Molly Naylor

Molly Naylor writes poems that speak frankly and boldly about learning how to live. Part confession, part manifesto; Badminton is a book that manages to celebrate humanity whilst despairing of its ugly bits.

Molly Naylor is the co-writer and creator of Sky One sitcom After Hours. She has been commissioned by the BBC, the RSC, the BFI, Battersea Arts Centre and many more organisations. She adapted her critically acclaimed solo show Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think Of You for BBC Radio 4. She has performed her stories and poems at festivals and events all over the world.

'Like all the best writers Molly Naylor makes it look easy. Here, in language as clear as a glass of water, are poems so intimately confessional we feel like intruders, and yet so generous, giving and warm we are honoured guests. Filled with hilarious observations on the minutiae of life, each revealing deep and personal truths, Badminton is a collection to return to over and over - and to share, share, share.'
Nathan Filer

'Brave, funny, tough and beautiful writing'
The Guardian
(on Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think Of You)

Genres: Poetry

72 pages, Paperback

First published September 7, 2016

Reviews

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was privileged to meet Molly Naylor and hear her perform some of the poetry from this collection. Molly is an amazing performance poet. Her poems are accessible and raw. They relate so well to modern life, as Molly endeavours to swerve the trappings of the fake and that striving for perfection which characterises social media. My favourite poem in the collection is Pylons... 'they are essential, intricate and normal/and there is a way/to find them gorgeous.

[Jessie Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

An easy breezy read (it took me about an hour to get through), though I wanted more depth from Naylor. There were some lovely little lines that made me chuckle, which I find to be a rare occurrence with poetry. I especially enjoyed “THINGS SAID TO ME IN MEETINGS WITH TELEVISION EXECUTIVES.” In fact, it was this poem that intrigued me enough to buy the book in the first place, but ultimately this was not my favourite collection.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Memories, moves, analyses and intrusive thoughts that come and go and come and go like a ball against a wall, against a racket, a net? Is there a net involved in badminton?

Also, Norwich.

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Molly Naylor writes poetry about her life. Some of it is really funny, some very insightful. She calls it "a manifesto of my life" and a confession of sorts.
I saw Molly perform many of her poems in this collection on a "Poetry Pub Crawl" (I feel that this may be a very British phenomenon, and if you're British and have never experienced one, then go out and find one! They're great fun!) at the Chester Literature Festival. She really was great and the reason I bought her book was exactly her ability to get her message across through her poetry. Being a grown up isn't easy!