{"product_id":"minx-9781784745875","title":"Minx","description":"\u003cb\u003e'Like amber, these poems capture moments of time, place \u003ci\u003eand \u003c\/i\u003efeeling' Lemn Sissay, author of \u003ci\u003eMy Name is Why\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e'An assured debut . . . It's not just the Dickensian narrative that's gripping, but the way it brings different forms to bear on its material' \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003e'Don't worry, I'm here in the house where every room has a name, but children's names are often forgotten.'\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eUplifting and heart-breaking, this lyrical evocation of an Anglo-Romani childhood marks the arrival of a vital new voice.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMINX reveals the vibrant but precarious world of a multi-racial Romani family: a world of grandfathers brewing moonshine in marrows, basement reggae parties, and a mother struggling to support her two daughters on the proceeds of her shadowy profession. Their powerful bond helps the sisters survive when they're taken into care, in a children's home that forcibly separates them. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith a verve and playfulness that belies their pain, these poems explore what it means to belong. Through daring experiments with form and narrative, MINX captures how it feels to grow up between a culture whose traditional ways are being lost and a wider society that despises them. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Moving, magical, mesmerising, these poems stay with you long after the pages are closed' Jackie Kay, author of \u003ci\u003eFiere\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eKaren Downs-Barton\u003c\/b\u003e is an Anglo-Romani writer who, after a peripatetic childhood including times in state care, now lives in Wiltshire. Winner of the Cosmo Davenport-Hines prize (2021) and Creative Future silver medallist (2022) she holds a PhD from King's College London, exploring identity through minority languages and multilingualism in entertainment industries. Her pamphlet \u003ci\u003eDidicoy \u003c\/i\u003ewas published by the Poetry Business in 2023 and selected as a Poetry Book Society Choice that year.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Chatto \u0026 Windus","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51414778806546,"sku":"9781784745875","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_4222fb1e-7f13-4348-a5f2-ebfafda66228.jpg?v=1751127578","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/minx-9781784745875","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}