The figures that judder in and out of sight and mind in these compressed yet oddly lucid poems are real and imagined, loved and reviled, fathered and childless, and sinned against or sinning. From patio cracks, plugholes, and grottos of lights, they emerge aslant – inviting us to peer just beyond the safe places.

Ben Bransfield was born in Shropshire and now lives in London. He read English at Brasenose College, Oxford, received an MA from the Shakespeare Institute, and graduated from the National Film and Television School. Named a Poetry Society Teacher Trailblazer, Ben has taught in schools for over a decade and was selected by the Poetry School and Nine Arches Press for the Primers mentoring scheme. He serves on the board of the Stephen Spender Trust.