One of Kei Miller’s selected writers for the International Literature Showcase
“In a time when so many of our best poets still hold the reader a bit at arm’s length, the open embrace of Rachel Long’s poetry is refreshing. Her poems insist that all the things that make her – her black woman’s sass and her political insights – can be bent into careful craft rather than hidden in ellipses.”
– Kei Miller
Poet and writer. Preoccupied by dreams, desire & stories of women/girls.
Rachel Long’s debut collection, My Darling from the Lions was published by Picador in 2020 (forthcoming from Tin House in the US, in September 2021). It was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, The Costa Book Award, The Rathbones Folio Prize, and the Jhalak Prize Book of the Year by a Writer of Colour. She is the founder of Octavia Poetry Collective for women of colour.
‘This debut collection is the modern poetry we need to read right now’ – Stylist
‘An enchanting and heartwarming new voice in poetry.’ – Bernardine Evaristo, author of Girl, Woman, Other
‘Beautiful. I’m so glad it was written.’ – Hollie McNish, author of Nobody Told Me
‘The intimacy of her poetic voice enhances its power to disarm’ – Phoebe Walker, the Times Literary Supplement
‘Long writes with keen wit and delight in rendering the world new’ – Rishi Dastidar, the Guardian
I am delighted and honoured to be selected, especially by Kei Miller whose work I have long loved and respected.
Bibliography
Poetry
‘My Darling from the Lions’ (Picador, 2020) (Tin House, US, September 2021).
Translation
O Martelo/The Hammer by Brazilian Adelaide Ivanova (2019)
