The Girl Aquarium explores the realm of rotten fairy tales, the possession of body and the definition of beauty. Weaving between whispered science and circus, these poems turn a cracked mirror on society and ask who gets to control the twisted tales hiding in the wings.
Bloodaxe, 25th April 2019
You can purchase the book at your local bookshop or at the links below
Foyles | Waterstones | Blackwell's | Hive | Bloodaxe
Amazon UK | Book Depository
signed copies, shipped worldwide
shortlisted for Books Are My Bag Poetry Award 2019
semifinalist Goodreads Choice Award 2019
parts of this collection won both the Jane Martin Poetry Prize and an Eric Gregory Award
read sample poems | three video poems | book tour
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Praise for 'The Girl Aquarium'
‘A collection of work that fizzes with linguistic dexterity and original phrasing.
Campbell produces a distinctive and absolutely daring poetic space of her own.’
Ahren Warner
'I can't help shivering as I read it.'
Alice Oswald (on 'On Crucifixion')
'I am impressed by the boldness, close to wildness, of Jen Campbell’s imagination.
As well as being fascinated, I take her very seriously.'
Christopher Reid
'This blistering poetry collection explores showmanship, the so-called freak industry, fairytales and spectacle – and, in fact, it doesn’t so much unpick these things as smash them to pieces and make them new. We meet “girls with beetle eyes” on display in a girl aquarium, captured mermaids held behind glass, a Bear Lady and Skeleton Man sipping beer. I love so much about it: how it kicks against tropes of disfigurement, how science jostles against fantastical circus, how it explores the way in which girls’ bodies can be sites of both self-discovery and exploitation. It is defiant, bold, brilliant. As the penultimate poem states, “Smash this circus to the ground”. — Elizabeth Macneal
‘Poetry of innocence and wonder. Poetry of darkness and deformation. The poems about girlhood experiences are daringly original.’
Daljit Nagra
'These poems push and pull you, making strange bedfellows of butchery, freaks, and the inner lives of girls.
Her roller-coaster of vivid images threaten to tear the paper.'
Melissa Lee-Houghton
For all publicity enquiries, please message Christine MacGregor at Bloodaxe.
For event enquiries, please contact me.
Bloodaxe, 25th April 2019
You can purchase the book at your local bookshop or at the links below
Foyles | Waterstones | Blackwell's | Hive | Bloodaxe
Amazon UK | Book Depository
signed copies, shipped worldwide
shortlisted for Books Are My Bag Poetry Award 2019
semifinalist Goodreads Choice Award 2019
parts of this collection won both the Jane Martin Poetry Prize and an Eric Gregory Award
read sample poems | three video poems | book tour
--
Praise for 'The Girl Aquarium'
‘A collection of work that fizzes with linguistic dexterity and original phrasing.
Campbell produces a distinctive and absolutely daring poetic space of her own.’
Ahren Warner
'I can't help shivering as I read it.'
Alice Oswald (on 'On Crucifixion')
'I am impressed by the boldness, close to wildness, of Jen Campbell’s imagination.
As well as being fascinated, I take her very seriously.'
Christopher Reid
'This blistering poetry collection explores showmanship, the so-called freak industry, fairytales and spectacle – and, in fact, it doesn’t so much unpick these things as smash them to pieces and make them new. We meet “girls with beetle eyes” on display in a girl aquarium, captured mermaids held behind glass, a Bear Lady and Skeleton Man sipping beer. I love so much about it: how it kicks against tropes of disfigurement, how science jostles against fantastical circus, how it explores the way in which girls’ bodies can be sites of both self-discovery and exploitation. It is defiant, bold, brilliant. As the penultimate poem states, “Smash this circus to the ground”. — Elizabeth Macneal
‘Poetry of innocence and wonder. Poetry of darkness and deformation. The poems about girlhood experiences are daringly original.’
Daljit Nagra
'These poems push and pull you, making strange bedfellows of butchery, freaks, and the inner lives of girls.
Her roller-coaster of vivid images threaten to tear the paper.'
Melissa Lee-Houghton
For all publicity enquiries, please message Christine MacGregor at Bloodaxe.
For event enquiries, please contact me.