Chan

by Hannah Lowe

Chan is a mercurial name, representing the travellers and shape-shifters of the poems in this collection. It is one of the many nicknames of Hannah Lowe’s Chinese-Jamaican father, borrowed from the Polish émigré card magician Chan Canasta. It is also a name from China, where her grandfather’s story begins. Alongside these figures, there’s Joe Harriott, the Jamaican alto saxophonist, shaking up 1960s London; a cast of other long-lost family; and a ship full of dreamers sailing from Kingston to Liverpool in 1947 on the SS Ormonde . Hannah Lowe’s second collection follows her widely acclaimed debut, Chick, which took readers on a journey round her father, a gambler who disappeared at night to play cards or dice in London’s old East End to support his family. ‘Here is a poet with a commanding style; her voice is entirely her own, both rich and laconic. These are poems springing from the page with vitality, rue and insight. Her elegies are restrained and devastating. An extraordinary debut.’ – Penelope Shuttle on Chick ‘This is an outstanding, unputdownable first collection’ – John Glenday on Chick ‘An unforgettable book. In an age where blurby superlatives compete on debut book covers, this one has an edge: it is about someone, namely the poet’s late father, from whose name it takes its title… “Say”, which exploits understatement to the full, is remarkable, and heartbreaking.’ – Helena Nelson, Magma . ‘Hannah Lowe’s debut collection is wonderful… a book which deals plainly and honestly with big emotions and tender, dramatic personal scenes.’ – Declan Ryan, Ambit

Genres: Poetry

87 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 23, 2016

About the author

Hannah Lowe is one of a generation of younger poets whose work celebrates the multicultural life of London and its environs in the eighties and nineties. She writes with a strong sense of place, voice, and emotional subtlety.

Lowe was born to an English mother and a Chinese/Jamaican father. She got her BA in American Literature at the University of Sussex, has a Masters degree in Refugee Studies, and is currently working towards a PhD in creative writing.

Reviews

[Ben Rowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hannah Lowe's poems are very approachable. I am not saying they do not have layers but you can get right into them and make sense of them without too much effort. They are personal and effective. Like her previous volume this is looking at her ancestry although is less singularly focussed than the last one. I kind of would have liked her to go in different directions but maybe this is what sells or more likely just what she wants to write.

There are quite a few poems in here I really like and have reread a good amount, particularly in the third section including High Yellow. These poems are fairly interestingly structured so they can be read (literally) in different ways.

[Alexicon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. I particularly enjoyed the depthof the Borderliner poems. Each one unpeeled to find new and different meanings. An inspiring work!

[Tôpher Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful cross cultural poetry exploring jazz and multi-racism in a vibrant and heartfelt way. Art inspired by the tension of belonging both to more than one race.

[Lily Burns]

I loved reading Chan, the insight you get on Hannahs life and relationship with her father is breath taking.
(Possible I'm her number one fan)