Poukahangatus

Tayi Tibble author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Penguin Books Ltd

Published:28th Jul '22

£10.99

Available to order, but very limited on stock - if we have issues obtaining a copy, we will let you know.

Poukahangatus cover

'Moving and hopeful ... will stay with me for a long time' Daisy Buchanan
'A fearless, young new voice' Carol Ann Duffy
'One of the most exciting debuts I've read in ages' Kaveh Akbar
'One of the most startling and original poets of her generation' Joy Harjo

The voice of Tayi Tibble is one of most exciting in poetry today. In Poukahangatus (pronounced 'Pocahontas'), her debut volume, Tibble challenges a dazzling array of mythologies - Greek, Maori, feminist, kiwi - peeling them apart and respinning them in modern terms. Her poems move from rhythmic discussions of the Kardashians, sugar daddies and Twilight to exquisite renderings of precise emotions and the natural world alike. Tibble is also a master narrator of teenage womanhood, its exhilarating highs and devastating lows; her high-camp aesthetics chart the overflowing beauty, irony and ruination of her surroundings.

Poem by poem, Tibble carves out a bold new way of engaging history without merely telling it, of straddling modernity and ancestry, desire and exploitation. These are warm, provocative and profoundly original poems, written from a world in which the effects of colonization, land, work and gender are intimately and insidiously connected. Along the way, Tibble scrutinizes perception and asks how she as a Maori woman fits into trends, stereotypes and popular culture. With language that is at once colourful, passionate and laugh-out-loud funny, Poukahangatus announces the presence of a surpassingly daring new poet.

A fearless, young new voice with a huge range, from history to pop culture, with that sense of joy in its own word-music which immediately heralds the start of a poetic and political journey. Along with Hera Lindsay Bird, Tayi Tibble adds excitement to the new poetry coming from New Zealand -- Carol Ann Duffy
Startlingly evocative, lush, moving and hopeful - this is a powerful and thrilling new voice that will stay with me for a long time -- Daisy Buchanan
Hurls us into a lush biome of sensual density ... one feels in the presence of a singular, searching mind rigorously excavating its own psychospiritual station. Poukahangatus is one of the most exciting debuts I've read in ages -- Kaveh Akbar
Tayi Tibble is one of the most startling and original poets of her generation. Her poetry makes doorways of insight into turbulent history. At the end, there we are, all standing together, listening -- Joy Harjo
Tayi Tibble's Poukahangatus was an incredibly rhythmic and refreshing read! Ripe with dazzling imagery, culture and history, this collection offers readers a tale of identity, cross-generational references and so much more. Tibble's rich language breathes new life into poetry and tethers readers to the history of the Maori people and the lasting impact of colonization. The writing screams, 'I was here before & I'll be back again!' I'd suggest this book to every twenty-something trying to find their way! -- Roya Marsh
I love your collection [Rangikura], it's so good, I'm so impressed ... You totally encapsulate the heady vibe of being a young woman in New Zealand -- Lorde * Metro NZ *

Tibble's luscious, widely praised debut poetry collection [channels] her Maori heritage and the zeitgeist of her childhood ... Tibble transforms tales of mundanity into spellbinding, melodious
encounters. Boys embroiled in a rugby scrum become gritty and vicious ... A game of Cowboys and Indians is incidentally wounding but also depicted as a sharp indictment of the White Savior Complex ... Tibble's running prose poems bubble over with lush imagery and serve as canny time capsules ... Like the stylistic lovechild of Rupi Kaur and Teresia Teaiwa, Tibble is a poet of effervescent verve and great promise

-- Diego Báez * Booklist *
This chatty, winsome debut by a young New Zealand poet mines family history, Maori myth and the residue of pop culture to fashion a striking sensibility * New York Times Book Review *
Tibble's affinity for poetry was literally written in the stars ... Tibble blends past and present, peppering her poems with pop culture references -- Serena Smith * Dazed *

ISBN: 9781802060591

Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 7mm

Weight: 90g

96 pages