SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 T. S. ELIOT PRIZESHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZEA
GUARDIAN AND FINANCIAL TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 'A wonder of a collection' Caleb Azumah Nelson
'Thrilling ... once-in-a-generation' Jackie Kay 'Genius ... tells a thousand stories in
stunningly crafted verse' Nikita Gill 'Remarkable textured ... Yomi Sode is a beautiful
storyteller' Candice Carty-Williams 'Heartbreaking ... This debut is the living heart and soul
of contemporary poetry' Pascale Petit 'Vivid beautiful and deeply moving' Rt Hon Diane Abbott
MP 'Yomi Sode writes with clarity anger and love' Andrew Graham-Dixon 'Searing shimmering
brilliant' Yrsa Daley-Ward 'A must for all lovers of poetry and its power' Roger Robinson
'Manorism is a classic' Caleb Femi Impassioned insightful electric Manorism is a poetic
examination of the lives of Black British men and boys: propped up and hemmed in by
contemporary masculinity deepened by family misrepresented in the media and complicated by
the riches and the costs of belonging and inheritance. It is also an exploration of the
differences of impunity afforded to white and Black people and to white and Black artists.
Caravaggio - originally unexpectedly - looms large: as a man who moved between spheres of
exalted patronage and petty criminality as a painter who amid the elegant conventions of late
Mannerism forged his own style of visceral dark and light and as an individual whose
recognized genius was allowed to legitimate and excuse his violence. In this profound and
moving debut Yomi Sode asks: what does it mean to find oneself between worlds - to
'code-switch' adapting one's speech and manners to widely differing cultural contexts? Who is
and who isn't allowed to be more than their origins? And what do we owe each other? What do we
owe ourselves?
