Other books that might interest you

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  Lavender Hyacinth Violet Yew

  Coral Wylie

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  'A garden without a traditional English rose is a cardinal sin – and I committed eight of those before my Ready Brek'
  Nineteen-year-old Pip is trying to find themselves through gardening. But with a dad more interested in plants than people and a mum stuck in the past, they're left to ponder life's questions alone.
  Then one day, they uncover a jacket in the attic that's been gathering dust. Bold, vibrant and very '80s, in its pocket lies a diary belonging to someone long gone. Swept up in the mystery, Pip digs into the past, unearthing secrets about an old friend their parents don't want to discuss…
  Funny, affecting and beautifully queer, Coral Wylie's play Lavender, Hyacinth, Violet, Yew tracks one family's efforts to assuage the past and plant the seeds of a better future. It was shortlisted for the Alfred Fagon Award in 2023 and premiered at the Bush Theatre, London, in 2025, directed by Debbie Hannan and starring Omari Douglas, Pooky Quesnel and Wil Johnson alongside the playwright.

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  blackbird hour

  babirye bukilwa

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  'This "love" word. Do people just use it when they feel sorry?'
  Eshe hasn't left the flat. Loved ones keep reaching out: blowing up her phone and showing up at her front door. They say they're going to 'save' her. She's not saying anything back.
  Until, in the dark early hours, surrounded by half-eaten food, dirty washing and a damn good playlist, she focuses on the letter in front of her.
  babirye bukilwa's play …blackbird hour is a visceral and moving exploration of care, belonging and of one queer Black woman's attempts to love herself.
  It was first performed at the Bush Theatre, London, in 2025, produced by Vital Xposure and directed by malakaï sargeant, before touring the UK. It was shortlisted for the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, the Women's Prize for Playwriting and the Alfred Fagon Award.
  babirye bukilwa is an actor, playwright and poet. …blackbird hour serves as a continuation of their critically acclaimed playwriting debut …cake.

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  small (NHB Modern Plays)

  Holly Robinson

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  A compassionate and probing exploration of youth and aging, nostalgia and regret, and the dangers of refusing to get old.
  All children grow up, but what if they could grow back down again? A new medical process is being attempted, and it's got an extraordinary aim: attempting to 'de-age' its volunteers back into young children.
  The scientists don't know if it'll work. The doctors aren't sure if it should. And the friends and families of those undergoing the risky procedure can't understand why anybody would willingly do this in the first place… Why would you want to be small again?
  Holly Robinson's play small was first performed at Soho Theatre, London, in a production by Oxford School of Drama.
  
  The Nick Hern Books Multiplay Drama series features large-cast plays specifically written to be performed by and appeal to older teenagers and young adults.

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  Top 10 Poets – The U S The -...

  Paul Laurence Dunbar, James...

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  The language of Poetry is an art that most of us attempt at some point in our lives.  Although its commonplace exposure has been somewhat marginalised in today’s often fast-paced lives we all recognise good verse that can empathise with our thoughts or open us up to experience new things in new ways, to better understand and to enjoy the many strands of our lives. 
  But finding a starting point can be overwhelming, even off-putting, so in this series we offer up our Top 10 classic poets, who brim with talent and verse, on a range of subjects and themes that we can all enjoy. 
  In the vast landmass of North America lie huge bodies of water that are called lakes but act as inland seas, vital waterways of communication and commerce.  Around these agéd waters some of its greatest poets have waxed lyrically on both the times and everything around them.

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  Into Light Volume One - Poems by...

  M. D, . Friedman

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  INTO LIGHT is the sixth poetry collection from the international, award-winning poet, musician and artist, M. D. Friedman, and is his first full-length poetry book. It reflects the experiences, observations, dreams and epiphanies of a lifetime, speaks quietly about the calling of the heart and loudly about injustices of the world. Eclectic in style and content, M. D. Friedman's poetry connects both the inner and outer realities of a life well-lived.INTO LIGHT Volume One: The Poems of M. D. Friedman, the audio book, contains the first 23 poems from M. D. Friedman's INTO LIGHT poetry book.  For all things INTO LIGHT, e.g., print, e-book, audio book, album, musical and video poetry rendentions, please see liquidlightpress.com/IntoLight.htm. These poems are the masterwork of a different kind of man than most men I’ve known in my 73 years. He is, as we used to say, "his own man." More than a disciple of some orthodox poetry "church," you'll meet a mindful, funny, wise and compassionate person in these texts, unafraid to speak honestly and vulnerably. From Li Po to Robert Johnson, memory care to contemporary politics, grieving lament to defiant slam, MD lays it all out about as clearly as a poet can while leaving enough tantalizing mystery to feed the reader's soul for days on end. He really believes "It is a miracle to be alive."! His poems encourage me to believe it, too!!~ wayne a. gilbert, poet and Colorado Governor's Creative Leadership Award winnerThis long anticipated poetry collection opens like a portal that will rainbow a monochrome world. Reminiscent of Rumi and Hafiz, you will taste the landscape with your tongue, unable to separate your own inner body from the mountains and sky you inhabit, “not the waterfall, but the water falling,” ... “no longer sculpted by gravity.” A love poem to life herself, you will want to take your time, savoring each languid line. “I am taken by how much I need this.”!Valerie A Szarek, award winning poet

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  Why I Was Late

  Charlie Petch

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  With kitchen-table candour and empathy, Charlie Petch’s debut collection of poems offers witness to a decades-long trans/personal coming of age, finding heroes in unexpected places.   
  Why I Was Late fuses text with performance, bringing a transmasculine wisdom, humour, and experience to bear upon tailgates, spaceships, and wrestling rings. Fierce, tender, convention re-inventing—Petch works hard. And whether it’s as a film union lighting technician, a hospital bed allocator, a Toronto hot dog vendor, or a performer/player of the musical saw, the work is survival. Heroes are found in unexpected places, elevated by both large and small gestures of kindness, accountability and acceptance. No subject—grief, disability, kink, sexuality, gender politics, violence—is off limits.  
  A poet so good at drag they had everyone convinced that they were a woman for the first forty years of their life, Petch has somehow brought the stage and its attendant thrills into the book. Better late than. And better.

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