A woman borrows her husband's tongue, a man spends years in a stalled car, a teenage boy sees a crack divide his town... In this impressive debut, York-based poet Miles Cain guides readers through an increasingly familiar dystopia of mind and city; a world observed with accuracy, wit and heart. Insightful, surreal and surprising, The Border marks the arrival of a formidable new voice in British poetry.
The Border
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Review
'Presents the world through Cain-tinted glasses... a place lit by possibility, mapped by language.' --Ian McMillan
'A fantastic collection... bleak and big-hearted poems with a wit that matches his eye for detail.' --Luke Kennard
'Fast, to the point, full of power.' --Paul Sutherland
'Exciting.... will win him many more admirers.' --Debjani Chatterjee
'Impressive... crammed with sharp images, terse rhythms and "sane, careful precision".'
--Oz Hardwick
'A fantastic collection... bleak and big-hearted poems with a wit that matches his eye for detail.' --Luke Kennard
'Fast, to the point, full of power.' --Paul Sutherland
'Exciting.... will win him many more admirers.' --Debjani Chatterjee
'Impressive... crammed with sharp images, terse rhythms and "sane, careful precision".'
--Oz Hardwick
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Pj
Format:Paperback
I buy a lot of poetry, and I read a lot of poetry. This is Miles Cain's first collection and it is lovely. I understand why he chose the title The Border - that notional space between what is real and what is not. Inevitably some poems stand out but the fact that I read this collection in one sitting is an indication that I enjoyed it all. Several poems I will go back to again and again - Tongue is one of them. The poet has taken something very domestic, the relationship between a man and a woman, and twisted it in a way that made a real impact. The whole collection has a thread of twisted domesticity running through it - that sense of life not being quite real, the realisation that this is all there is - Monument Valley captures the longing to live old dreams before it is too late. Any of us who life dull lives, or lives that we do not wish to live, should read this collection. It will make you see life in a different way.
By PenelopeS
Format:Paperback
This is a powerful set of poems, thought provoking and wise. Miles Cain shows the human condition through the modern, urban landscape. His experiences as a writer in residence in prison and as a youth worker provide the backdrop for a number of these hard-hitting poems. There are echoes of Simon Armitage and Carol Ann Duffy here. Cain is a writer to watch in the next few years.
By L. Wilkinson
Format:Paperback
Miles Cain's poems sprawl like landscape paintings but possess all the vitality of abstract expressionism. 'The Border' is a pocket-sized gallery of images from a poet who amuses, delights and stuns. It will be a pleasure to return to these poems time and time again.
Format:Paperback
I bought this after hearing Miles Cain perform songs, tell stories and read his poems.
Reading them in book form adds somehting new- it is a fscinating collection. The poems are varied, have good pace. They make you laugh and cry. I hope he goes on to write many more- he has talent.
Reading them in book form adds somehting new- it is a fscinating collection. The poems are varied, have good pace. They make you laugh and cry. I hope he goes on to write many more- he has talent.
Format:Paperback
Well-crafted, sensitive yet muscular poems that move you in one direction, then pull the rug and tug you in another. Accessible, but far from superficial, the poems propel you vividly, forcefully into the lives of a range of people, with no punches pulled. I found 'Lessons' particularly affecting, and only hope it is a work of the imagination. Though as Cain is writer-in-residence at a prison, I fear it might not be ... A strong debut collection. Read it.
By Grace Davies
Format:Paperback
I was impressed by 'The Border', Miles Cain's first collection of poetry. I've read lots of poetry books in the last couple of years and this is one of the better ones. The author mixes the surreal with the everyday to great effect - for example in 'Tongue', a darkly comic tale. The best poems here tend to be dream-like in content, and there are plenty of musings on the joys and pitfalls of relationships. Mostly, though, I enjoyed it because it wasn't boring - the poems are entertaining and thought provoking, and sometimes moving. Some, like 'Car' are less effective, but for the most part this is a strong debut. I recommend this collection to anybody who enjoys modern poetry like Sharon Olds or Simon Armitage.
By CE
Format:Paperback
When Miles Cain speaks from experience the poems are deeply felt and have the power to move the reader. Cain uses fairly traditional structures to express his thoughts, perhaps showing his roots as a song writer. This simplicity allows the reader to come closer to his twists on universal themes.
By SLL (London)
Format:Paperback
A thought-provoking and very personal look at life and love, in a series of thirty-odd poems which sometimes take a slightly absurdist point of view, exemplified by the very first poem in the book - Instructions For Downloading The Human Heart - which pictures a heart being offered for sale over the internet - "All you need is super vest broadband and the right chip"... and a credit card, of course! (I wonder if Amazon do them?!?!)
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