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Bantam
Jackie Kay’s first collection as Scottish Makar is a book about the fighting spirit – one, the poet argues, that we need now more than ever. Bantam brings three generations into sharp focus – Kay’s own, her father’s, and his own father’s – to show us how the body holds its own story. Kay shows how old injuries can emerge years later; how we bear and absorb the loss of friends; how we celebrate and welcome new life; and how we how we embody our times, whether we want to or not. Bantam crosses borders, from Rannoch Moor to the Somme, from Brexit to Bronte country. Who are we? Who might we want to be? These are poems that sing of what connects us, and lament what divides us; poems that send daylight into the dark that threatens to overwhelm us – and could not be more necessary to the times in which we live.
80 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2017
5 people are currently reading
114 people want to read
About the author
Jackie Kay
106 books435 followersBorn in Glasgow in 1961 to a Scottish mother and a Nigerian father, Kay was adopted by a white couple, Helen and John Kay, as a baby. Brought up in Bishopbriggs, a Glasgow suburb, she has an older adopted brother, Maxwell as well as siblings by her adoptive parents.
Kay's adoptive father worked full-time for the Communist Party and stood for election as a Member of Parliament, and her adoptive mother was the secretary of the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).
Initially harbouring ambitions to be an actress, she decided to concentrate on writing after encouragement by Alasdair Gray. She studied English at the University of Stirling and her first book of poetry, the partially autobiographical The Adoption Papers, was published in 1991, and won the Saltire Society Scottish First Book Award. Her other awards include the 1994 Somerset Maugham Award for Other Lovers, and the Guardian Fiction Prize for Trumpet, based on the life of American jazz musician Billy Tipton, born Dorothy Tipton, who lived as a man for the last fifty years of her life.
Kay writes extensively stage, screen, and for children. In 2010 she published Red Dust Road, an account of her search for her birth parents, a white Scottish woman, and a Nigerian man. Her birth parents met when her father was a student at Aberdeen University and her mother was a nurse. Her drama The Lamplighter is an exploration of the Atlantic slave trade. It was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in March 2007 and published in poem form in 2008.
Jackie Kay became a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) on 17 June 2006. She is currently Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University. Kay lives in Manchester.
Jackie Kay was born and brought up in Scotland. THE ADOPTION PAPERS (Bloodaxe, 1991) won the Forward Prize, a Saltire prize and a Scottish Arts Council Prize. DARLING was a poetry book society choice. FIERE, her most recent collection of poems was shortlisted for the COSTA award. Her novel TRUMPET won the Guardian Fiction Award and was shortlisted for the IMPAC award. RED DUST ROAD, (Picador) won the Scottish Book of the Year Award, was shortlisted for the JR ACKERLEY prize and the LONDON BOOK AWARD. She was awarded an MBE in 2006, and made a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2002. Her book of stories WISH I WAS HERE won the Decibel British Book Award.
She also writes for children and her book RED CHERRY RED (Bloomsbury) won the CLYPE award. She has written extensively for stage and television. Her play MANCHESTER LINES produced by Manchester Library Theatre was on this year in Manchester. Her new book of short stories REALITY, REALITY was recently published by Picador. She is Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University.
Kay's adoptive father worked full-time for the Communist Party and stood for election as a Member of Parliament, and her adoptive mother was the secretary of the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).
Initially harbouring ambitions to be an actress, she decided to concentrate on writing after encouragement by Alasdair Gray. She studied English at the University of Stirling and her first book of poetry, the partially autobiographical The Adoption Papers, was published in 1991, and won the Saltire Society Scottish First Book Award. Her other awards include the 1994 Somerset Maugham Award for Other Lovers, and the Guardian Fiction Prize for Trumpet, based on the life of American jazz musician Billy Tipton, born Dorothy Tipton, who lived as a man for the last fifty years of her life.
Kay writes extensively stage, screen, and for children. In 2010 she published Red Dust Road, an account of her search for her birth parents, a white Scottish woman, and a Nigerian man. Her birth parents met when her father was a student at Aberdeen University and her mother was a nurse. Her drama The Lamplighter is an exploration of the Atlantic slave trade. It was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in March 2007 and published in poem form in 2008.
Jackie Kay became a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) on 17 June 2006. She is currently Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University. Kay lives in Manchester.
Jackie Kay was born and brought up in Scotland. THE ADOPTION PAPERS (Bloodaxe, 1991) won the Forward Prize, a Saltire prize and a Scottish Arts Council Prize. DARLING was a poetry book society choice. FIERE, her most recent collection of poems was shortlisted for the COSTA award. Her novel TRUMPET won the Guardian Fiction Award and was shortlisted for the IMPAC award. RED DUST ROAD, (Picador) won the Scottish Book of the Year Award, was shortlisted for the JR ACKERLEY prize and the LONDON BOOK AWARD. She was awarded an MBE in 2006, and made a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2002. Her book of stories WISH I WAS HERE won the Decibel British Book Award.
She also writes for children and her book RED CHERRY RED (Bloomsbury) won the CLYPE award. She has written extensively for stage and television. Her play MANCHESTER LINES produced by Manchester Library Theatre was on this year in Manchester. Her new book of short stories REALITY, REALITY was recently published by Picador. She is Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
December 7, 2020
A delightful, yet short, collection of poems from Jackie Kay, who is quickly becoming a favourite writer of mine, after my having read three of her works in as many weeks.
This collection, narrated by the author, speaks to Kay’s love for Scotland: the vibrant, diverse Scotland which I love. I especially loved Kay’s love letter to the islands of Scotland and Scotland’s diverse population. Listening to the audiobook while I cooked the dinner meant that I missed the title, but it was beautiful and brought me a lot of joy.
Kay also writes a poem to wonderful, vibrant, Glasgow, and to the towns oft neglected in mainstream narratives about Scotland. She writes about Scotland’s lochs, too, and its nature. One thing felt true and genuine in this collection: Kay has a deep love for Scotland.
However, Scotland is not romanticised. Indeed, in another poem, Kay writes from the perspective of a refugee who is seeking home comforts. Stomach bloated from strange foods, yearning to be able to afford to buy more familiar products and some nice clothes to make herself feel good. This poem made my heart ache, and I thought of Mercy Baguma, who tragically lost her life in Scotland earlier this year, failed by a country which claims itself welcoming. This thought reminds me of an excerpt from the essay Invisible Europe by Dubravka Ugresic, that reads “refugees and migrants serve as a mirror, a test, a challenge, a summons to confront our values.” To which I thought: “Scotland is open”... only if you can afford it.
Another poem that I had a strong reaction to was one called ‘Farage Futures’ or something... I wish I could refer to a physical copy to confirm the names. Here, Kay writes about Brexit, it’s impact upon the UK and upon Scottish people, who overwhelmingly voted against it. I thought it was a little firecracker of a poem and found myself reacting aloud to it’s brilliance.
In Bantam, Kay also writes about her family, and so some of the poems felt very intimate and personal. Having only read her fiction before diving into this, I felt it was a good glimpse into Jackie Kay as a person, a person whom I would like to learn more about.
I’m glad I read this little collection, and I really enjoyed Jackie Kay’s narration of the audiobook. Would highly recommend for lovers of Scottish literature!
This collection, narrated by the author, speaks to Kay’s love for Scotland: the vibrant, diverse Scotland which I love. I especially loved Kay’s love letter to the islands of Scotland and Scotland’s diverse population. Listening to the audiobook while I cooked the dinner meant that I missed the title, but it was beautiful and brought me a lot of joy.
Kay also writes a poem to wonderful, vibrant, Glasgow, and to the towns oft neglected in mainstream narratives about Scotland. She writes about Scotland’s lochs, too, and its nature. One thing felt true and genuine in this collection: Kay has a deep love for Scotland.
However, Scotland is not romanticised. Indeed, in another poem, Kay writes from the perspective of a refugee who is seeking home comforts. Stomach bloated from strange foods, yearning to be able to afford to buy more familiar products and some nice clothes to make herself feel good. This poem made my heart ache, and I thought of Mercy Baguma, who tragically lost her life in Scotland earlier this year, failed by a country which claims itself welcoming. This thought reminds me of an excerpt from the essay Invisible Europe by Dubravka Ugresic, that reads “refugees and migrants serve as a mirror, a test, a challenge, a summons to confront our values.” To which I thought: “Scotland is open”... only if you can afford it.
Another poem that I had a strong reaction to was one called ‘Farage Futures’ or something... I wish I could refer to a physical copy to confirm the names. Here, Kay writes about Brexit, it’s impact upon the UK and upon Scottish people, who overwhelmingly voted against it. I thought it was a little firecracker of a poem and found myself reacting aloud to it’s brilliance.
In Bantam, Kay also writes about her family, and so some of the poems felt very intimate and personal. Having only read her fiction before diving into this, I felt it was a good glimpse into Jackie Kay as a person, a person whom I would like to learn more about.
I’m glad I read this little collection, and I really enjoyed Jackie Kay’s narration of the audiobook. Would highly recommend for lovers of Scottish literature!
March 19, 2018
Bantam is Jackie Kay's newest poetry collection, and the first taste which I have had of her work. It is about grief, and love, and whilst some of the poems here are powerful, thoughtful, and memorable, I was not as struck by the collection as I expected to be. It is undoubtedly creative, and tackles a lot of themes, but it did not quite feel like a coherent collection to me. I do, however, want to read more of her work to see how it compares.
From 'Small':
'The gift of a bluebell, an embrace,
Oh - the yellow gorse,
the small brown foals,
the crows lined up
from the main window.
Beauty, riches close to sorrow.'
From 'Is It Christmas?':
'The moons came and the suns slid.
The names for things came, then hid.'
From 'Silver Moon':
'Black and white striped spires, tiny irons, Viragos, Shebas,
The distinct spiral on the cover of your old Bell Jar
Your skin's pages, your heart's ink, your brain's Word Power.'
From 'Beech Road Park':
'You lost your winter scarf, my love.
And the trees lost their auburn hair.
I lost a single rust-red glove.
I thought I saw - but you were not there.'
From 'Smith Myth' (dedicated to Ali Smith):
'There is somebody who has the gift of nobody.
In the beautiful black night at the edge of the old canal,
I could just vanish; or I could choose to live.
There is nobody who is not a somebody -
Whose heart is not open like a road.'
From 'Mr Bronte's Fear of Fire':
'Maybe Mr Bronte had no word for it but fire
So - a man should fear it, the thing that runs ahead,
Consuming everything he loves, until it dawns too late:
There is no fire curtain to draw in any store room
Between the living and the dead.'
From 'Small':
'The gift of a bluebell, an embrace,
Oh - the yellow gorse,
the small brown foals,
the crows lined up
from the main window.
Beauty, riches close to sorrow.'
From 'Is It Christmas?':
'The moons came and the suns slid.
The names for things came, then hid.'
From 'Silver Moon':
'Black and white striped spires, tiny irons, Viragos, Shebas,
The distinct spiral on the cover of your old Bell Jar
Your skin's pages, your heart's ink, your brain's Word Power.'
From 'Beech Road Park':
'You lost your winter scarf, my love.
And the trees lost their auburn hair.
I lost a single rust-red glove.
I thought I saw - but you were not there.'
From 'Smith Myth' (dedicated to Ali Smith):
'There is somebody who has the gift of nobody.
In the beautiful black night at the edge of the old canal,
I could just vanish; or I could choose to live.
There is nobody who is not a somebody -
Whose heart is not open like a road.'
From 'Mr Bronte's Fear of Fire':
'Maybe Mr Bronte had no word for it but fire
So - a man should fear it, the thing that runs ahead,
Consuming everything he loves, until it dawns too late:
There is no fire curtain to draw in any store room
Between the living and the dead.'
November 10, 2017
Perfect
April 18, 2020
What a beautiful coincidence, that I got to exist at the same time as this amazing little poetry book.
December 16, 2024
Such a beautiful and moving collection of poetry ❤️
June 21, 2020
2.5 stars, I just couldn’t find a rhythm with these poems and personally really struggle when they’re written phonetically. Not one for me!
June 17, 2018
A brilliant collection from the Scottish Makar, as you would expect, with affecting and powerful poems on life, grief, identity, time, and making sense of the connections and divisions between us. Challenges othering of people by social class/identity in several ways, notably drawing attention to the experience of ethnic minorities and refugees, while remaining heartfelt and personal, presenting the depth of experiences that are felt by a person. Poems are in both English, Scots, and a combination of the two.
Some notable poems worth a read include the elegiac and moving "Lines From Kilmarnock", plithy "Bantam", "Small" (one of my favourites, emotionally wrought and true), the centrepiece "Threshold" (not least for its many references, incorporations of about 40 languages, and commentary on contemporary Scotland), the particularly intertextual "Silver Moon", "Planet Farage" (sardonic, tongue and cheek), and "Constant".
Here's one of my favourites, which reminds me of Hugh MacDiarmid's intimate poems like "Empty Vessel" (who features as an epigraph, alongside Zora Neale Hurston, Rupert Brooke, and Nan Shepherd), and I have just learned was commissioned to be included to the baby box for newborns in Scotland (modelled after Finland):
"O ma darlin wee one
At last you are here in the wurld
And wi' aa your wisdom
Your een bricht as the stars,
You've filled this hoose with licht,
Yer trusty wee haun, your globe o' a heid, My cherished yin, my hert's ain!
O ma darlin wee one The hale wurld welcomes ye:
The mune glowes; the hearth wairms.
Let your life hae luck, health, charm,
Ye are my bonny blessed bairn,
My small miraculous gift.
I never kent luve like this."
- Welcome Wee One
Some notable poems worth a read include the elegiac and moving "Lines From Kilmarnock", plithy "Bantam", "Small" (one of my favourites, emotionally wrought and true), the centrepiece "Threshold" (not least for its many references, incorporations of about 40 languages, and commentary on contemporary Scotland), the particularly intertextual "Silver Moon", "Planet Farage" (sardonic, tongue and cheek), and "Constant".
Here's one of my favourites, which reminds me of Hugh MacDiarmid's intimate poems like "Empty Vessel" (who features as an epigraph, alongside Zora Neale Hurston, Rupert Brooke, and Nan Shepherd), and I have just learned was commissioned to be included to the baby box for newborns in Scotland (modelled after Finland):
"O ma darlin wee one
At last you are here in the wurld
And wi' aa your wisdom
Your een bricht as the stars,
You've filled this hoose with licht,
Yer trusty wee haun, your globe o' a heid, My cherished yin, my hert's ain!
O ma darlin wee one The hale wurld welcomes ye:
The mune glowes; the hearth wairms.
Let your life hae luck, health, charm,
Ye are my bonny blessed bairn,
My small miraculous gift.
I never kent luve like this."
- Welcome Wee One
February 29, 2020
It's a such a beautiful thing to read and be at home. Whilst reading Jackie Kay's Bantam I smiled in recognition of these places in Scotland, all the little nuances only known to people from this part of the world. ✨ " ...it takes more than one language to tell a story..." In this poetry book, I enjoyed how Jackie covered lots of issues which are very universal. ✨
I am a lover of poetry and I was at home reading this book but I must say if you are not well aware of the Scottish dialogue, some of these poems will be tasking. ✨
However if you are up for an adventure and patient to manoeuvre this fun terrain then Bantam is definitely for you.
I am a lover of poetry and I was at home reading this book but I must say if you are not well aware of the Scottish dialogue, some of these poems will be tasking. ✨
However if you are up for an adventure and patient to manoeuvre this fun terrain then Bantam is definitely for you.
March 31, 2018
Being loved spills out of Jackie Kay and touches everything with warmth. Unsurprisingly therefore, this is a book of lovely poems, many touching, some creating more than an intellectually appreciative emotion. It includes the lovely Scots poem included, as a stroke of genius, the baby boxes provided to new Scottish parents. There are many very personal poems, especially including her long lived, long loving parents but they have the power to speak to all of us.
May 21, 2018
Jackie Kay's first collection since becoming Scotland's Makar feels more like a gathering of recently written works, rather than a book that hangs together as a collection.
There are some lovely poems in here, with lots of love radiating from the lines towards family and friends, places and peoples. The Ardtornish Quartet, Bantam and My Pitch are some of my favourites, and like many of her poems, sound best when read aloud.
There are some lovely poems in here, with lots of love radiating from the lines towards family and friends, places and peoples. The Ardtornish Quartet, Bantam and My Pitch are some of my favourites, and like many of her poems, sound best when read aloud.
January 16, 2021
I first discovered Jackie Kay on Twitter during the Covid 19 pandemic. She read us weekly poems to get us through the stay at home order. She is the Makar or poet laureate of Scotland and since half my family lives there we follow Scottish art and literature. Her poetry in this collection explores who we are through ourselves and our generations of family.
October 31, 2024
read for uni. i think this was the first full poetry collection i have ever read which is a bit obscene considering all i write is poetry. i don’t have crazy strong feelings in it but i did enjoy it.
May 8, 2025
I’m not a great fan of poetry but after hearing Jackie recite her poems I thought I should try again. I could actually hear her lovely voice as I read and although some of it went over my heid there were some lovely poems and phrases. A good start and I shall persevere.
November 7, 2017
Jackie Kay is wonderful. Thanks mum for buying me this collection. My favourites are: A Lang Promise, April Sunshine, Pas de Deux, In The Long Run, My Pitch, Lochaline Stores, A Day Like Today & Planet Farage (which is called Extinction in my other book?!).
I shared Lochaline Stores at meditation on Argyll Yoga Retreat along with 'There's never long to wait for the Corran Ferry'- seemed to go down well with the group.
I shared Lochaline Stores at meditation on Argyll Yoga Retreat along with 'There's never long to wait for the Corran Ferry'- seemed to go down well with the group.
May 27, 2018
until it dawns too late:
There is no fine curtain to draw in any stone room
Between the living and the dead.
—“Mr Brontë’s Fear of Fire”
There is no fine curtain to draw in any stone room
Between the living and the dead.
—“Mr Brontë’s Fear of Fire”
July 24, 2019
A very quick read but unfortunately this wasn't the book for me. I enjoyed some of the poems more than others but I didn't connect with this collection at all.
August 12, 2021
More of a hard drive dump than a coherent collection, and the commissioned poems are hit and miss, but when she gets into the weeds of grief, family and identity, hoo boy!
November 10, 2022
Really rarely pleasing.
October 6, 2023
For someone who doesn't like poetry, I certainly read a lot of poetry, don't I?
January 30, 2025
Full of humour and unexpected rhythmic turns, and a hard-to-pinpoint formal cohesion, this is a late but strong entry to the list of 2017's best poetry publications.
August 31, 2021
A niche book of poetry. Half had Scottish history, culture or vernacularisms thay I sid anit understand. The more mainstream poems had significant meaning about life’s innuendos.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews