Poems about our capital
Heather Phillipson's poems have been published widely in magazines and anthologies, and she has read across the UK and in Europe. She received an Eric Gregory Award in 2008 and a Faber New Poets Award in 2009. Her pamphlet is published by Faber and Faber. Alongside her poetry, Phillipson is also an artist working with the moving image. She exhibits nationally and internationally, and has received awards, commissions and residencies. Her work has been profiled on BBC television and radio, in Artforum and Frieze. She has recently held residencies at London College of Fashion and Aberystwyth Arts Centre and is currently participating in programmes at Picture This (Bristol) and the ICA (London).
Published in City State: New London Poetry (Penned in the Margins, 2010), which showcases the work of 27 London writers. From hyperlinked walks of Battersea bombsites and guerilla gardening projects to jagged urban lyrics and dark hymns to the East End, City State presents a confident, entertaining and truly diverse snapshot of the best new poetry from London.
I send this to you by overnight horse.
He whips east like the 277.
In Highbury I stare at my ceiling
and see you yesterday, from the top deck of a bus,
cycle down Kingsland Road.
You wobbled a bit past Dalston Junction
(was it the wind or the traffic or me?),
with your legs - I thought I saw -
shaved for aerodynamics. And anyway,
everything and nothing rides on him,
and the road surfaces are uneven
and his forelocks are wavy
and so is your hair when it's longer
and that makes me lonely,
so give him oats and blackcurrant jam,
James, and damn the vitamin tablet
in my throat that keeps me awake;
it's not the morning without you.
And forgive him -
he may have nothing to give when he gets there.
City State is available to buy from Amazon and Waterstone's, £9.99.
