A wonderfully varied collection of Joelle's poetry and more. Forthright and unapologetically queer. A definite triumph and worthy winner of the T.S.Eliot prize...Philippa.

Life-changing and beautiful. My favourite ever poetry collection, I re-read it regularly. Buy it!!

Joelle Taylor recently won the TS Eliot prize for poetry, and I don’t think there could have been a more deserving winner. C+nto is truly the most powerful book a queer person will read this year. A similarly mournful but celebratory insight to the lesbian bars of the 80s and 90s which are no longer in existence, Joelle recounts meeting fellow butch identifying people at these venues and the constant fight against society to simply exist as a non-femme person on the streets outside. This poetry isn’t just a book, it is an experience. The passion and pain from each piece highlights the dangers of presenting as butch and the memories of men trying to teach butch people their own bodies, as a response to their homophobic anger at butch people for simply existing. This is contrasted with the loving connection between butches and how they survive society together. Many venues for queer women do not exist anymore, but the ghosts of the people who once entered them remain. Joelle’s jaw-dropping use of language, to personify the weather and the buildings and describe the breath of something as ordinary as a snooker table will have you believing in the magic of humanity once again. Because Joelle Taylor exists, so does the concept of excellence. The Others gain their voice in this collection, and I want them to be shouting from the rooftops for the rest of time.