Blood & CordA child is born and everything is made anew. In this blur of new beginnings there are tears and laughter, new words and new silences: this is an unmaking and remaking of the self. From short stories about unnerved fathers and lost mothers, to poems about half built Lego palaces and friends who share their deepest secrets, Blood & Cord is a raw exploration of new parenthood. Voicing silenced conversations about loss, grief, and loneliness, as well as

Brooklyn or Toronto: the Caribbean that never leaves his characters’ heads

she turns around and is confronted by two punk girls Lenin and Mao

It focuses instead on showcasing what is happening now in poetry and spoken word

you’ll find encouragement

I cannot live beside you any longer

Agata's search for her ‘lost’ family

a foul-mouthed old woman

"Thompson’s story is one to read

Twenty-five surreal collages by John Digby

Seventeen years later Vladan’s discovery that he is the son of a fugitive war criminal sends him off on a journey round the Balkans to find his elusive father where he also finds out how the falling apart of his family is closely linked with the disintegration of the world they used to live in

The many ethical dilemmas these poems enact listen in to the noise which society makes to distract itself – from carceral space to questions of asylum

the story follows eighteen-year-old Lillie Carrigan as she experiences first love with her lifelong friend