Books Books Books
Category: Bestsellers, Ebooks, Individual Collections, Poetry
Number of pages: 72
ISBN: 9781781724736
Publication date: November 1, 2018
Price: £9.99
Category: Bestsellers, Ebooks, Individual Collections, Poetry
Number of pages: 72
ISBN: 9781781724743
Publication date: November 1, 2018
Price: £7.99
Out of stock
Winner of the People’s Choice Award, Wales Book of the Year 2019
Gen is a book of lions and rock stars, street parties and servants, postmen and voices. In the opening sequence’s exploration of youth and young manhood, the author sets his own Valleys upbringing against the ’50s youth of his parents and the experience of a range of pop culture icons, including Kurt Cobain and Harry Houdini. These poems give way to a sequence of monologues and character sketches, giving us the lives of crocodiles and food testers, pianists and retail park trees. Other poems place a Valleys village and the characters who live in it alongside explorations of Welsh history and prehistory, and the collection concludes with a selection of sometimes witty, sometimes heartfelt love poems.
With his characteristic humour, warmth, formal range and swaggering music, Jonathan Edwards delivers a worthy follow-up to his popular and critically-lauded debut.
Jonathan Edwards
Jonathan Edwards’ first collection of poems, My Family and Other Superheroes (Seren Books, 2014), received the Costa Poetry Award and the Wales Book of the Year People’s Choice Award, and was shortlisted for the Fenton Aldeburgh First Collection Prize. His second collection, Gen (Seren Books, 2018), also received the Wales Book of the Year People’s Choice Award, and his poem about Newport Bridge was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem 2019. He received the Troubadour Prize in 2022 and the Ledbury Poetry Festival Prize in 2025. Jonathan has been poet-in-residence at Gladstone’s Library and at the Dylan Thomas Boathouse, Laugharne, a judge for the National Poetry Competition, the Wales Book of the Year and the Foyle Young Poets Award, and a Literature Wales mentor of emerging writers. He lives in Crosskeys, South Wales, and is an Advisory Fellow for the Royal Literary Fund.
“Touching character portraits reiterate why Edwards has won plaudits, but the acerbic edge that pervades Gen also suggests a new direction.”
Ben Wilkinson, The Guardian
“Edwards has a sure touch and true eye for making art of popular culture … Gen is a vibrant, brilliant book.”
Joe Caldwell, Blog
“A thoroughly engaging bunch … Roughly divided into four themes – youth, character sketches, Wales, and lust – the pages hop nonstop between unalike centuries and voices. Some things remain steadfast: the tone never has airs or graces, with talk of “bumfluff” and “dude”, “being pissed” and “piggyback”; two fingers are always stuck up to authority; emotions are generally haywire. Sometimes the temper rises, “bloody” this or “bloody” that. It’s pretty fun.”
Sophie Baggott, Wales Arts Review
‘As always Edwards’ writing is at once bold and sweeping whilst also managing to maintain a homely and intimate voice that feels personal.”
Ben Ray
