Poppy

Poppy by Joseph Minden explores the suppression of totems of remembering in a debut collection that incorporates research trips to the battlefields of Flanders and the Somme, family myth, and a fear of familiar vampires. The protagonist, Adlestrop, meets Robin Hood, stumbles around the Menin Gate, and is haunted by an old flame, Mina. Minden creates a haunting, memorable music by using documentary evidence, personal testimony, dream narrative, prose, rhyme, and repetition.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 112 pages
Publication date: 24 November 2022
Publisher: Carcanet Press Ltd

In his debut collection, "Poppy," Joseph Minden delves into the intricate interplay between the totems of remembrance and their simultaneous function as sites of suppression. The poems in this collection encompass a research journey to the battlefields of Flanders and the Somme, an ill-fated visit to Penang, rumors of the Opium Wars, fragments of family myth, and a haunting fear of familiar vampires—all infused with the grimy residue of establishment British history. Within these pages, Adlestrop encounters Robin Hood, enchanted by a leg of tandoori chicken, and drunk Brits stumble around the Menin Gate, emblazoned with the poignant phrase "Lest We Forget." Accompanied by the historian, Jason, and perpetually haunted by an old flame, Mina, the protagonist of the poems embarks on a quest to distinguish memory from nostalgia and empire from heritage. The protagonist navigates through a web of old ideas and historical material, seeking to unravel the threads that bind them. Minden employs a diverse range of poetic techniques, including documentary evidence, personal testimony, dream narrative, prose, rhyme, and the repetitive, haunting rhythms of repetition, to craft a deeply unsettling and unforgettable music. Through his meticulous exploration of the past, Minden challenges the boundaries between truth and illusion, illuminating the haunting echoes of history that continue to resonate in the present.

Weight: 154g
Dimension: 215 x 133 x 12 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781800172715