In Retail

by Jeremy Dixon

While working in a well-known pharmacy chain, Jeremy Dixon found surprising inspiration. His poems were written on the ends of till rolls and smuggled out in his socks.

Anyone who has ever worked in retail will recognise the characters and situations, and the management-speak absurdities; but Jeremy also brings his perspective as a queer writer to bear, with witty and wicked results.



"That’s my voice on the Tannoy
doing the end of day:
This store will close in ten minutes

so please make your way
to the tills at the front
of the shop to pay. Except when

I release the blue button Suzie
Dispenser says it was far too soft
and garbled, nobody understood."

Genres: Poetry

50 pages, Paperback

First published March 4, 2015

About the author

Jeremy Dixon is an award-winning poet and maker of Artist’s Books. His first full collection A VOICE COMING FROM THEN won the Wales Book of the Year Poetry Award 2022. Jeremy’s poetry has appeared in Butcher’s Dog, Found Poetry Review, HIV Here & Now, Impossible Archetype, Lighthouse Journal, Anti-Heroin Chic, Roundyhouse and other print and online magazines. He is the author of the pamphlet IN RETAIL (Arachne Press, 2019).

His first poetry collection A VOICE COMING FROM THEN was published by Arachne Press in 2021 and deals with themes of bullying, queerphobia and his teenage suicide attempt. It also includes unexpected typography, collage, humour, magic, discotheques and frequent appearances by a Victorian demon, Spring-Heeled Jack.

Reviews

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection has to be read in its entitity because actually it is one poem made up of 3 clusters of a total of 36 small ones, a series of vignettes of everyday workaday life. It captures moments of experiences in work we all forget but which when put together are much more than the sum of its parts. Impactful. Memorable. Reflective. Decisive. The poet as camera, candid. Cleverly formatted to resemble till receipts, reading this collection recalled for me the poetry of Frank O'Hara as if it had been transfered from the penniless of the streets of 1950/60s New York to the zero hours contract, minimum wage part-timers of 21st century Britain.

ashramblings verdict 4* deceptively enguiling, these pull you in, leaving you unable to ever again enter a centre high street chemist without a secrect smiles on your face.

[Lauren (Cook's Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Someone beat me to it 😂

[Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little gem of a book - a world's eye view from the top of the ladder in the pharmacist's stock room... As succinct as a till roll but humane and humorous, even dealing with the occasional awkward customer. Respectfully observant and sympathetic all at once - evidence that the human spirit can survive 'in retail' (for a time at least ;-) ); I can't wait until this shop opens its doors again!
Interest declared: Author Jeremy is known to me through the Chapter11 writers circle.

[Claire Booksnink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well all i can say is this is a recollection in poetry of the day to day goings of a big well known store in the Uk from the perspective of a staff member. Some of the poems are ok and others are great and you can sympathise with the staff who work in these places. It’s not a book that will stick with me for long as it wasn’t impactful in any way. Would i recommend it...hmmmm if it’s your thing I’d say see if it’s in the library or available online. Would i buy it myself...I don’t think so