A Lost Expression

Reviews / Votes

His language is exciting and it feels to me that he's a truly 21st-century writer, taking inspiration from all over the place, unafraid of barriers and conventions. -- Ian McMillan * The Times * Inventive, academically aware, fearless and hugely enjoyable. -- Nick Laird * The Telegraph * Thank heaven for Luke Kennard. As thought-provoking and poignant as it's witty, this collection confirms him as an exceptional - in every sense - voice in poetry today. -- Sarah Crown * Poetry Review * Luke Kennard writes vibrant, original poems that stick in your mind for a long time and enliven your imagination. -- Sophie Hannah Kennard pushes the bounds of lyric taste and develops new modes for the prose poem, and for serious comedy in British poetry. -- Todd Swift * Poetry London * Luke Kennard is one of the half-dozen thoroughly original poets of his generation... No one else has been able to navigate so cleverly the choppy waters he's claimed for his own. -- Todd Swift * Poetry London * Kennard's work is clever, fascinating and with an off the wall, tongue in cheek sort of humour that is a joy to read or listen to. * Sabotage * He has something of the holy fool about him in his ability to wrongfoot more erudite, supposedly rational minds, and the way his madness reveals flashes of perspicacity. * Phoenix * This collection includes Kennard's most personal and political poems. It closes with "Jeremiah", a monologue from a businessman who consistently provides thrilling answers to a question a student poses: "What are poets for?" Kennard admires the American writer Ben Lerner who recently published a novel in which his narrator claims: "Poems aren't about anything". Kennard might concur but, with urgency and generosity, A Lost Expression addresses the world we live in now. -- Max Liu * The Independent * His language is exciting and it feels to me that he's a truly 21st-century writer, taking inspiration from all over the place, unafraid of barriers and conventions. -- Ian McMillan * The Times * Inventive, academically aware, fearless and hugely enjoyable. -- Nick Laird * The Telegraph * Thank heaven for Luke Kennard. As thought-provoking and poignant as it's witty, this collection confirms him as an exceptional - in every sense - voice in poetry today. -- Sarah Crown * Poetry Review * Luke Kennard writes vibrant, original poems that stick in your mind for a long time and enliven your imagination. -- Sophie Hannah This collection includes Kennard's most personal and political poems. It closes with "Jeremiah", a monologue from a businessman who consistently provides thrilling answers to a question a student poses: "What are poets for?" Kennard admires the American writer Ben Lerner who recently published a novel in which his narrator claims: "Poems aren't about anything". Kennard might concur but, with urgency and generosity, A Lost Expression addresses the world we live in now. -- Max Liu * The Independent *