Skin Can Hold

Vahni Capildeo's Skin Can Hold is an innovative poetry collection exploring identity through collaborative performance and diverse voices, challenging traditional poetic forms.

In Skin Can Hold, Vahni Capildeo presents a captivating collection that showcases her innovative approach to poetry. This third volume marks a significant evolution in her work, as it embraces collaborative experiments across various performance art forms, including theatre and dance. Drawing inspiration from Caribbean masquerade, Capildeo's poems invite readers into a vibrant world where the boundaries of traditional poetry are blurred. The collection is rich with diverse voices and perspectives, reflecting the complexities of identity and experience.

The poems in Skin Can Hold are alive with energy, featuring characters that challenge the norms of poetic decorum. Capildeo introduces a weeping poltergeist, who disrupts the conventional lyric, and polyglot workers navigating an urban landscape, bringing to life the often-overlooked narratives that exist 'between the lines' of poetry. This dynamic interplay of voices creates a tapestry of sound and meaning, inviting readers to engage with the text on multiple levels.

As a longlisted contender for the 2020 BOCAS Prize for Caribbean Literature and recognized as a Telegraph Book of the Year in 2019, Skin Can Hold solidifies Capildeo's status as a significant voice in contemporary poetry. Her ability to intertwine themes of sleaze and surveillance within her work transforms familiar narratives into compelling dramas, urging readers to reconsider the stories we tell and the spaces we inhabit.