A review by katie_greenwinginmymouth
The Actual by Inua Ellams

funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

Each poem in this collection is titled Fuck / then the subject, so Fuck / Shakespeare, Fuck / Borders, Fuck / Weak Handshakes and on, covering a wide range of topics. Roger Robinson posted about this collection and described how the title functions as a dam “holding back a flood of political, cultural and artistic commentary whilst maintaining the sensory and imagistic nuance of poetry” which is the perfect description of how these poems work. Righteous anger is tempered with a good dose of humour and tenderness, the poems are direct and impactful. Ellams is incredibly good at writing poetry that is accessible but never simplistic, and full of humanity. I would recommend this book to everyone.