Sabotage

'Audacious, irreverent, funny and, at the same time, deeply serious, Priscila Uppal's poems explore our notions of identity and various other conventions we live by striving to see through the lies. The ever-present horrors of our age; the injustice, the violence, the abuse and slaughter of the innocent, are almost always present. Uppal is a political poet who sounds like no other political poet, someone bound to get in trouble in every political system in the world. Her subject matter tends to be dark, but her telling of it is exhilarating. Every poem in her book comes as a surprise, and that includes the free translation of the Anglo-Saxon poem The Wanderer which in her version deals with the Iraq war and the fate of people displaced by such calamities. Uppal has done the rare and difficult thing: she has brought a brand new voice to poetry' - John Burnside, Charles Simic & Karen Solie, Griffin Prize judges. 'Canada's coolest poet - her subject-matter is dark and dangerous, but Uppal exudes wit and positive energy' - Time Out (London). 'Bloodaxe Books - appears to have struck gold with the Canadian Priscila Uppal - a fresh voice with an upfront gender imperative powering her poems. She is frank about the female body, extremely honest about sex, and her talk of mortality is never mordant but frequently laugh-out-loud funny - her poems are character-driven dramas with surprising twists and phrasing whether it is the high jinks of a subject like reincarnation or the ribald and awkwardly erotic' - Fred D'Aguiar, Poetry London. 'A powerful memoir of a life spend testing and questioning herself, her family, and the world around her - Uppal manages to mix a self-deprecating sense of humour with a genuinely powerful and tragic voice - shows off her academic prowess where she takes classic literary works and myths as central topics - Uppal is an adventurous poet, daring and willing to expose whatever personal truths she finds on her journeys. Surviving this many successful tragedies has left Uppal battle-weary, but with an honest, fearless voice that's both penetrating and moving. 4 out of 5 stars' - John Challis, Hand + Star.