Gub

Scott McKendry's debut collection, GUB, is a playful and exhilarating exploration of Belfast, making magic of a city that in other hands would be grim. Drawing on the language of working-class Belfast, it deals with generational trauma, social decay, and the rituals of a place with a fraught history. McKendry's unique voice brings the language of ghettoized Belfast into serious Irish poetry, while his tightly-wrought structures weave an unprecedented verse of mourning, witness, alter ego, class alienation, and aesthetic turmoil.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 96 pages
Publication date: 02 February 2024
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group

Scott McKendry's debut collection, GUB, is a unique and captivating work of literature that defies conventional categorization. Written in a playful and demotic style that is both exhilarating and hilarious, McKendry breathes life into a Belfast that in other hands would be grim and unapproachable. This is the most exciting poet to emerge from the north of Ireland in many years, and his work is widely regarded as a groundbreaking achievement in Irish poetry.

McKendry's poetry is a lyrical savant of the highest order, exhibiting a remarkable ability to blend the real and the fantastical, the academic and the everyday, the parish and the polis. His debut collection is rooted in the language of working-class Belfast, and it seamlessly slips between eras and time zones, closing the gap between the mundane and the extraordinary. McKendry's writing is characterized by its distinctive and energetic voice, which is both powerful and accessible.

One of the most striking features of GUB is its ability to address the complex and often painful issues of generational trauma, social decay, and the rituals of a place with a fraught history and an uncertain future. McKendry's writing evokes the balaclava-clad gunmen, urban warlords, and explosions that gripped the decades either side of the Good Friday Agreement, dragging the language of ghettoized Belfast into the realm of serious Irish poetry. However, he does so with a light touch, employing lyrical influences such as Carson, McGuckian, and Longley in a way that is both playful and profound.

McKendry's tightly-wrought structures weave an unprecedented verse of mourning, witness, alter ego, class alienation, and aesthetic turmoil. His writing is noisy, dark, and witty, but it is also deeply reflective and thought-provoking. GUB is an utterly new voice out of Belfast, but it has a universal appeal that transcends geographical and cultural boundaries.

In conclusion, Scott McKendry's debut collection, GUB, is a remarkable achievement in Irish poetry. It is a playful and demotic masterpiece that defies conventional categorization and offers a fresh and exciting perspective on the world. McKendry's lyrical savantry, combined with his unique and energetic voice, makes his work a must-read for anyone interested in contemporary poetry. GUB is a testament to the power of literature to transcend boundaries and inspire change, and it is a shining example of the talent and creativity that exists within the Irish literary community.

Weight: 108g
Dimension: 126 x 198 x 12 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781472158086