The Woman Who Was Not There by Joelle Taylor
£9.99
Joelle Taylor is a poet, spoken word artist, playwright and novelist. She is a former UK slam champion and founder and artistic director of the Poetry Society’s national solo youth slam SLAMbassadors UK. She has produced four plays for theatre as well as several texts on performance practice. This is her second poetry collection.
"Joelle observes the reality of modern-day life, pinpoints the absurdities and the injustices, and then reminds us that we are human, and that sometimes the best way to make sense of it is through poetry. The thing I have always liked about Joelle’s poetry is that it has guts, it has rhythm, and it has attitude. The thing I like about this collection is that it continues that tradition.
In these times of austerity, hypocrisy, political corruption, and mindless reality television, we need poetry like this. Joelle Taylor does not mess about. Her poetry is fearless. It gets right to the point.
Her poetry has purpose."
Benjamin Zephaniah
"A city gritty heart-beaten tattoo."
John Hegley
"Joelle Taylor continues to propel poetry in not only innovative but in very crucial ways. Her work launches itself from a world that has been lived in a thousand hapless times, managing to unearth within the reader the deepest sense of tragedy, love and hope."
Anthony Anaxagorou
"The title misleads us, as these are the tumultuously heart-rending words of a woman who is actually very much here, there, everywhere. Joelle Taylor has written an epic collection of raw emotion distilled into a distinctly unique style of language. Put this in your bag, on your tongue, in your chest."
Sabrina Mahfouz
"Joelle Taylor’s a shape-shifter, myth-maker, linguistic risk-taker; poetical activist, surrealist with a raised fist. She knows how to handle a pen. Razor sharp, tattooed or AWOL, her women are the best dressed men. Her material – fractured glass and human skin; the effect – a maze, a mosaic, a hall of mirrors. She redefines the dispossessed, the caged in and gives them a way out."
Patience Agbabi