Richard Skelton reflects on how Stranger in the Mask of a Deer came to be, examining his experience of pain medication-induced hallucinations, the uncertainty of knowledge about early humans, and the resonance of poetry.

Notes on the Sonnets by Luke Kennard has been shortlisted for the 2021 Forward Prize for Best Collection and ‘Flower of Sulphur’ by John McCullough for Best Single Poem.

John McCullough brings his distinctive surreal humour and emotional intensity to a new collection, Panic Response, to be published spring 2022.