
Transformatrix
Patience Agbabi(Author)
Canongate Books (Publisher)
Published on 12. May 2000
Book
Paperback/Softback
80 pages
978-0-86241-941-7 (ISBN)
Description
'They call me Jax, though my real name's Eva
The whole of the Jackson Five rolled into one serious diva
No.1 on the guest list, top of the charts
When I make my grand entrance, the sea of sequins parts...'
From Hamburg to Jo'burg, Oslo to Soho, Patience Agbabi follows her critically acclaimed debut collection R.A.W., with Transformatrix, an exploration of women, travel and metamorphosis.
Inspired by 90s poetry, 80s rap and 70s disco, Transformatrix is a celebration of literary form and constitutes a very potent and telling commentary on the realities of late twentieth century Britain. It is also a self-portrait of a poet whose honesty, intelligence and wit manages to pack a punch, draw a smile and warm your heart all at once.
The whole of the Jackson Five rolled into one serious diva
No.1 on the guest list, top of the charts
When I make my grand entrance, the sea of sequins parts...'
From Hamburg to Jo'burg, Oslo to Soho, Patience Agbabi follows her critically acclaimed debut collection R.A.W., with Transformatrix, an exploration of women, travel and metamorphosis.
Inspired by 90s poetry, 80s rap and 70s disco, Transformatrix is a celebration of literary form and constitutes a very potent and telling commentary on the realities of late twentieth century Britain. It is also a self-portrait of a poet whose honesty, intelligence and wit manages to pack a punch, draw a smile and warm your heart all at once.
Reviews / Votes
Agbabi's lyrics are sweet and precise, her desire fierce...A transformer indeed * * The List * * combining cutting satire and outright celebration. * * The Big Issue * * A testament to the elastic nature of the poetic form. Her poems draw onrap, jive and disco rhythms as much as the formal subtleties of free
verse. Her identity is equally protean: she manages convincingly to
embody a drag queen, a jealous husband, an East End wide-boy, a lesbian
who is coming of age and a poetry tutor. The effect is a small kind of
cultural 'payback' - surely if we cannot locate the 'real' her, we
cannot pigeonhole her. Agbabi is a fine poet, and her linguistic wit
carries satirical fire. * * Daily Telegraph * * A rising star * * The Observer * *
More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 130 mm
Thickness: 10 mm
Weight
66 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-86241-941-7 (9780862419417)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Person
Patience Agbabi was born in London in 1965 and educated at Oxford and Sussex
Universities. Renowned for her live performances, her poems have been
broadcast on television and radio all over the world. Her work has also
appeared on the London Underground and human skin. She has lectured in
Creative Writing at several UK universities including Greenwich,
Cardiff and Kent. In 2004 she was nominated one of the UK's Next
Generation Poets. Bloodshot Monochrome is her third poetry collection; Canongate also publishes Transformatrix. She lives in Kent with her partner and two children.
Universities. Renowned for her live performances, her poems have been
broadcast on television and radio all over the world. Her work has also
appeared on the London Underground and human skin. She has lectured in
Creative Writing at several UK universities including Greenwich,
Cardiff and Kent. In 2004 she was nominated one of the UK's Next
Generation Poets. Bloodshot Monochrome is her third poetry collection; Canongate also publishes Transformatrix. She lives in Kent with her partner and two children.