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The Toll
An escaped lion roams the streets of Essex; a lonely pensioner holds a tower block fête; and the silent majority takes to the streets.
Travel the unfashionable A-roads and commuter lines of England — ‘where industry meets marsh’ — with poet Luke Wright. Discover a country riven by inequality and corruption but sustained by a surreal, gallows humour.
The Toll combines the elegaic with the anarchic, placing uproarious satire cheek-by-jowl with wild experiments in form and touching poems of parenthood. In lines perfected on roads, stages and radio shows across the country, Luke Wright captures the strain of austerity Britain, speaking truth to power and registering the toll it takes on us all.
Travel the unfashionable A-roads and commuter lines of England — ‘where industry meets marsh’ — with poet Luke Wright. Discover a country riven by inequality and corruption but sustained by a surreal, gallows humour.
The Toll combines the elegaic with the anarchic, placing uproarious satire cheek-by-jowl with wild experiments in form and touching poems of parenthood. In lines perfected on roads, stages and radio shows across the country, Luke Wright captures the strain of austerity Britain, speaking truth to power and registering the toll it takes on us all.
- GenresPoetry
100 pages, Paperback
Published February 2, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 2, 2019
Excellent.
May 10, 2019
Contains six or seven of the best poems I've ever read. That's a hell of a strike-rate! A ferocious talent at display here. A modern master.
February 10, 2019
Better still if you have heard Luke Wright perform his poems, as I did in the week. This has some absorb poems, some neatly formal vowel limited forms, some fairly average sonnets, some overdone sentences structures and some wild invention and whimsy. A bit uneve, but I liked it.
July 18, 2020
I have written most of my life but after a friend found some of my work and said I should perform it I was very hesitant, after all I had never even seen a poetry show. This I needed to remedy.
I went on google and typed in Poetry in Essex to find shows and gigs to attend and possibly to perform at.
I found Luke Wright, I had never heard of him before. He had a show coming up. I went.
The show was ‘The Toll’ and afterwards I purchased the book and read it cover to cover and then, I read it again.
Both the show and the book were and are total masterpieces. It’s smart, is hilarious and at times sad. The title piece, The Toll in particular is a beautifully crafted story and seeing as I am from Essex, I know the Dartford Toll Crossing very well, I am also a daydreamer and have often sort more for my life as I am sure many have, to say I connect with Luke’s work would be an understatement.
After enjoying the book so much I decided I’d like to interview him for a podcast I ran at the time and he was kind enough to welcome me into his home to do so.
Luke is a really nice guy and honestly one of the UK’s greatest talents for writing and performing. He is a true master of his craft and a spectacular energy on the stage. Luke has a special ability to write and really captivate the reader.
I urge anyone to go to a show, find him on YouTube, pick up a copy of any of his books.
You absolutely can’t go wrong with any of them but The Toll will always be my favourite and has been the biggest inspiration in my writing.
I went on google and typed in Poetry in Essex to find shows and gigs to attend and possibly to perform at.
I found Luke Wright, I had never heard of him before. He had a show coming up. I went.
The show was ‘The Toll’ and afterwards I purchased the book and read it cover to cover and then, I read it again.
Both the show and the book were and are total masterpieces. It’s smart, is hilarious and at times sad. The title piece, The Toll in particular is a beautifully crafted story and seeing as I am from Essex, I know the Dartford Toll Crossing very well, I am also a daydreamer and have often sort more for my life as I am sure many have, to say I connect with Luke’s work would be an understatement.
After enjoying the book so much I decided I’d like to interview him for a podcast I ran at the time and he was kind enough to welcome me into his home to do so.
Luke is a really nice guy and honestly one of the UK’s greatest talents for writing and performing. He is a true master of his craft and a spectacular energy on the stage. Luke has a special ability to write and really captivate the reader.
I urge anyone to go to a show, find him on YouTube, pick up a copy of any of his books.
You absolutely can’t go wrong with any of them but The Toll will always be my favourite and has been the biggest inspiration in my writing.
January 29, 2025
Great poems and even better when heard read by Luke. However also just finished his recent collection called Pub Grub which is another excellent collection, the book isn’t on good reads so have added it to this review!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews