A5, 24 pages, Black & white printing, Saddle Stitched, Softcover, Edition of 200, 2024

... pushes language to its limit, investigating the poetic potential of the names of seaweeds washing up on the Scottish coastline – ‘plumed chenille, pearl moss, black tassel, red eyelet silk, lace, ribbon.’ The prose-poem sequence brims with visceral soundings – ‘gneiss’ churns at the back of the reader’s throat, whilst ‘sheen’ sits between the reader’s teeth. Common Name goes beyond a cognitive exercise in how we allocate language, but instead asks us to physically encounter each word, ‘gasp[ing]’, ‘implod[ing]’, and ‘bubbling’ on the page.

Published by Osmosis Press &