In Retail
Published on 24. April 2020
48 pages
978-1-909208-90-2 (ISBN)
Description
While working in a well-known pharmacy chain, Jeremy Dixon found surprising inspiration. His poems were written on the ends of till rolls and smuggled out in his socks. Anyone who has ever worked in retail will recognise the characters and situations, and the magnificent management absurdities; but Jeremy also bring his perspective as a gay man to bear with witty and wicked results.
Reviews / Votes
The situations are recognisable, written without judgemental comment and the poems report the shortcomings of petty bureaucracy without ranting or taking sides. In Retail offers insights and knows how to end a story precisely on the punchline. Each page has the title In Retail in grey reversed print at the top. Each even page has the message 'Thank you for your custom' in grey reversed print. Each odd page has a different message, e.g. 'All made in China', 'Obey the till', 'Hurry they won't last long' in grey reversed print. This layout suggests a receipt roll and the poems appear to be printed on the back, a subversively humorous reflection of how they were composed. * London Grip * an incredibly observant collectionConsumer culture is embedded into the very form of the writing itself.
That line in the final stanza is incredible. 'Mother says contactless is Satan's kiss'. Payment is a glide of the hand, quick, dismissive, a kiss that never touches the glass. Thoughtlessness cushions temptation. -- Lydia Hounat * LitBitch *
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Jeremy Dixon was born in Essex and spent 45 year in rural South Wales making Artist's Books that combine poetry and photography. He now lives on the Wirral. His poems have appeared both online and in print in Roundyhouse Magazine, Riptide Journal, Lighthouse Journal, Durable Goods, and Really System, among others. Arachne Press published his first poetry pamphlet, In Retail, and his first full collection, A Voice Coming From Then, which won the Wales Book of the Year 2022 Englsih Language Poetry Category
