{"title":"Isabelle Baafi","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"chaotic-good-book-isabelle-baafi-9780819501455","title":"Chaotic Good","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn evocative journey of self-discovery and reclamation in the wake of divorce\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eWinner of the Jerwood Prize for Best First Poetry Collection, granted by Forward Arts Foundation (UK)\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize (UK)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e This fresh, dynamic debut poetry book from award-winning poet Isabelle Baafi explores the transformative journey of redefining one's identity following trauma and upheaval. This conversational collection simmers with energy and immediacy as it interrogates how much our identity is determined by the circumstances into which we are born. The book's five sections travel backwards and forwards in time: asking urgent questions of self-knowledge and change during a marital breakdown, revisiting the formation of a moral compass during childhood, navigating the pitfalls of powerlessness and conformity during adolescence, charting the rise and fall of a passionate marriage, and seeking revitalisation in the wake of divorce. Visceral scenes from childhood and adolescence are set against deeply resonant moments of love blossoming and love dying to explore desire, power, and self-perception in unexpected ways. This exquisite and moving collection marks the emergence of a distinctive poetic voice.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e [Sample Poem]\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The way you say pen\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eAfter Irene P. Mathieu's 'Soil'\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e it sounds like pain, as in\u003cbr\u003e all I ever wanted was to live by my pain.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e If you want to raze a city, all you need\u003cbr\u003e is some paper and a good pain.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e You once said that a woman with a pain\u003cbr\u003e is like a gun who soon finds more targets than mercy.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Every day I lost another pain, but you\u003cbr\u003e gave me another to take its place.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e A child starts out writing in pencil,\u003cbr\u003e but mastery is rewarded with a pain.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Aged six, first trip without Dad, my legs the canvas:\u003cbr\u003e lightning scratched into me with my mother's pain.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e My shadow from the day I learned to skip\u003cbr\u003e with bloodied knees - she was my pain pal all this time.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The pain is mightier than the sword,\u003cbr\u003e and twice as likely to punish its owner.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e What a luxury and a curse, to live and die\u003cbr\u003e by the torrent of my pain.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Rainclouds surround the registry. Organza-veiled\u003cbr\u003e and blister-footed, I am yours with the flick of a pain.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 'Fill out in block capitals with black ink.' Some truths\u003cbr\u003e are only valid when the right pain tells them.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51383411147025,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51383411245329,"sku":"NIN9780819501455","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/081950145X.jpg?v=1786134250"},{"product_id":"chaotic-good-book-isabelle-baafi-9780571390953","title":"Chaotic Good","description":"A piercing debut about how we are made, how we get lost and how we find new selves.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51452646949137,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51452647047441,"sku":"GOR014285616","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51727826649361,"sku":"GOR014380439","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":52110925234449,"sku":"NGR9780571390953","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52663967252753,"sku":"NLS9780571390953","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53129102524689,"sku":"GOR014760109","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53233808703761,"sku":"GOR014820207","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0571390951.jpg?v=1786614885"},{"product_id":"chaotic-good-book-isabelle-baafi-9780819501806","title":"Chaotic Good","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn evocative journey of self-discovery and reclamation in the wake of divorce\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eWinner of the Jerwood Prize for Best First Poetry Collection, granted by Forward Arts Foundation (UK)\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize (UK)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e This fresh, dynamic debut poetry book from award-winning poet Isabelle Baafi explores the transformative journey of redefining one's identity following trauma and upheaval. This conversational collection simmers with energy and immediacy as it interrogates how much our identity is determined by the circumstances into which we are born. The book's five sections travel backwards and forwards in time: asking urgent questions of self-knowledge and change during a marital breakdown, revisiting the formation of a moral compass during childhood, navigating the pitfalls of powerlessness and conformity during adolescence, charting the rise and fall of a passionate marriage, and seeking revitalisation in the wake of divorce. Visceral scenes from childhood and adolescence are set against deeply resonant moments of love blossoming and love dying to explore desire, power, and self-perception in unexpected ways. This exquisite and moving collection marks the emergence of a distinctive poetic voice.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e [Sample Poem]\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The way you say pen\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eAfter Irene P. Mathieu's 'Soil'\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e it sounds like pain, as in\u003cbr\u003e all I ever wanted was to live by my pain.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e If you want to raze a city, all you need\u003cbr\u003e is some paper and a good pain.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e You once said that a woman with a pain\u003cbr\u003e is like a gun who soon finds more targets than mercy.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Every day I lost another pain, but you\u003cbr\u003e gave me another to take its place.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e A child starts out writing in pencil,\u003cbr\u003e but mastery is rewarded with a pain.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Aged six, first trip without Dad, my legs the canvas:\u003cbr\u003e lightning scratched into me with my mother's pain.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e My shadow from the day I learned to skip\u003cbr\u003e with bloodied knees - she was my pain pal all this time.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The pain is mightier than the sword,\u003cbr\u003e and twice as likely to punish its owner.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e What a luxury and a curse, to live and die\u003cbr\u003e by the torrent of my pain.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Rainclouds surround the registry. Organza-veiled\u003cbr\u003e and blister-footed, I am yours with the flick of a pain.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 'Fill out in block capitals with black ink.' Some truths\u003cbr\u003e are only valid when the right pain tells them.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51650284421393,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51650284486929,"sku":"NIN9780819501806","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0819501808.jpg?v=1751362865"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-isabelle-baafi.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}