Ian Humphreys: Zebra (Poetry)

In Zebra, a boy steps tentatively from the shadows onto a strobe-lit dancefloor.

Ian Humphreys’ much-anticipated debut shimmers with music, wit and humour while exploring mixed identities, otherness, and coming-of-age as a gay man in 1980s Manchester.

These acutely-observed, joyful poems pay homage to those who took the first steps – minority writers, LGBT civil rights activists, 70s queer night-clubbers and the poet’s own mixed-race parents.

A heady cocktail of the playful, political and mythical, Humphreys’ Zebra is also a creature of opposites – light and dark, countryside and cityscape, highs and lows. The collection moves from semi-rural England to the metropolitan hubs of Hong Kong, London and New York, circling its subjects, often finding the uncanny in the familiar, always drawing the reader centre-stage.

Ian’s debut full-length collection of poetry, Zebra, is forthcoming from Nine Arches Press in Spring, 2019. A portfolio of his poems was published in 2017 by Bloodaxe in Ten: Poets of the New Generation. His work has featured in magazines and anthologies, such as The Poetry Review, The Rialto, Ambit, Magma and The Forward Book of Poetry.

Ian Humphreys has won a number of awards, including first prize in both the 2016 Hamish Canham Prize and the 2013 PENfro Open Poetry Competition. In 2018, he was Highly Commended in the Forward Prizes for Poetry. Ian has also been published internationally in overseas journals and anthologies. His fiction has been shortlisted three times for the Bridport Prize.

Ian Humphreys has had work featured in journals and anthologies such as The Poetry Review, The Rialto, Magma and The Forward Book of Poetry 2019. Awards include first prize in the Poetry Society’s Hamish Canham Prize. He has been highly commended in the Forward Prizes for Poetry, and two of his poems have been longlisted in the National Poetry Competition. Ian is a fellow of The Complete Works, which promotes diversity, quality and innovation in British poetry. A portfolio of his poems is published in Ten: Poets of the New Generation (Bloodaxe).

Zebra
Ian Humphreys
Poetry
Format Paperback
80 pages
Dimensions 150 x 210 x 22mm
Publication date 11 Apr 2019
Publisher Nine Arches Press
Publication City/Country Rugby, United Kingdom
Language English
ISBN10 1911027700
ISBN13 9781911027706
Cover artwork: Louise Crosby
BIC Code: DCF
€15,99

# new poetry
Ian Humphreys
Zebra

• fleursdumal.nl magazine

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