Description

Rachel Long’s much-anticipated debut collection of poems, My Darling from the Lions, explores shame, love and healing through her intimate poetic voice.

Shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize
Shortlisted for the Costa Poetry Award
Shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection
Shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize

‘An enchanting and heartwarming new voice in poetry.’ – Bernardine Evaristo, author of Girl, Woman, Other

Each poem has a vivid story to tell – of family quirks, the perils of dating, the grip of religion or sexual awakening – stories that are, by turn, emotionally insightful, politically conscious, wise, funny and outrageous.

Long reveals herself as a razor-sharp and original voice on the issues of sexual politics and cultural inheritance that polarize our current moment. But it’s her refreshing commitment to the power of the individual poem that will leave the reader turning each page in eager anticipation: here is an immediate, wide-awake poetry that entertains royally, without sacrificing a note of its urgency or remarkable skill.

‘This debut collection is the modern poetry we need to read right now’ – Stylist

‘Beautiful. I’m so glad it was written.’ – Hollie McNish, author of Nobody Told Me

Publisher Review

Rachel Long’s poems have a sculpted quality, voluptuous and sharp, as if carved in velvet and ice, not one word wasted. My Darling from the Lions is daring yet tactful, explosive yet reined in, as irrepressible as a lion squeezed into a matchbox – an extraordinary debut. — Pascale Petit, author of Mama Amazonica In My Darling From the Lions, Long embodies through verse at once sensual and breathless the tempo of desire. Here is life as sacred and profane, rendered by a voice so clear it cuts through everything and rings like a bell. — Mary Jean Chan, author of Fleche A delight. It takes melancholic, surprising turns every couple of pages, with poems centred around combating body shame, sex and faith. — Roger Robinson, The Week I loved reading these poems. They are immediate, accessible and necessary, but also joyful, witty and elegant. They tell stories we so much need to hear. — Kate Clanchy Rachel Long is an enchanting and heartwarming new voice in poetry. — Bernardine Evaristo, Booker Prize-winning author of Girl, Woman, Other