LONGLISTED FOR THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE 2021
Including essays from the author published for the first time in print
'I was blown away by this book' BERNARDINE EVARISTO
The Actual is a symphony of personal and political fury sometimes probing delicately, sometimes burning with raw energy. In poems that swerve and crackle with a rare music, Inua Ellams unleashes a full-throated assault on empire and its legacies of racism, injustice and toxic masculinity.
Written on the author's phone, in transit, between meetings, before falling asleep and just after waking, this is poetry as polemic, as an act of resistance, but also as dream-vision. At its heart, this book confronts the absolutism and 'foolish machismo' of hero culture from Perseus to Trump, from Batman to Boko Haram. Through the thick gauze of history, these breathtaking poems look the world square in the face and ask, 'What the actual . . . ?'
'Bristles with energy . . . Consistently vivid' GUARDIAN
| ISBN: | 9781037203695 |
| Publication date: | 5th November 2026 |
| Author: | Inua Ellams |
| Publisher: | Bloomsbury Poetry an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 80 pages |
| Genres: |
Poetry by individual poets Social and political philosophy Political activism / Political engagement |
LONGLISTED FOR THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE 2021Including essays from the author published for the first time in print'I was blown away by this book' BERNARDINE EVARISTOThe Actual is a symphony of personal and political fury sometimes probing delicately, sometimes burning with raw energy. In poems that swerve and crackle with a rare music, Inua Ellams unleashes a full-throated assault on empire and its legacies of racism, injustice and toxic masculinity.
The Actual features in the following genres: Poetry by individual poets, Social and political philosophy, Political activism / Political engagement
Paperback. £11.69, down from the £12.99 cover price. Pre-order. 5th November 2026.
The Actual was written by Inua Ellams and published by Bloomsbury Poetry an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing (UK)
The Actual has 80 pages
£11.69, reduced from £12.99. Pre-order. 5th November 2026.