Assurances

J. O. Morgan

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English

Jonathan Cape Ltd
15 June 2018

Poetry by individual poets

A compelling multi-layered narrative set in the early years of the Cold War from the award-winning Scottish poet.
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*WINNER OF THE COSTA POETRY AWARD 2018
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*SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2018 FORWARD PRIZE FOR BEST COLLECTION
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A war-poem both historic and frighteningly topical, Assurances begins in the 1950s during a period of vigilance and dread in the middle of the Cold War- the long stand-off between nuclear powers, where the only defence was the threat of mutually assured destruction.

Using a mix of versed and unversed passages, Morgan places moments of calm reflection alongside the tensions inherent in guarding against such a permanent threat. A work of variations and possibilities, we hear the thoughts of those involved who are trying to understand and justify their roles. We examine the lives of civilians who are not aware of the impending danger, as well as those who are. We listen to the whirring minds of machines; to the voice of the bomb itself. We spy on enemy agents- always there, always somewhere close at hand.

Assurances is an intimate, dramatic work for many voices- lyrical, anxious, fragmentary and terrifying; a poem about the nuclear stalemate, the deterrent that is still in place today- how it works and how it might fail, and what will vanish if it does.

By: J. O. Morgan
Imprint: Jonathan Cape Ltd
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 197mm, Width: 130mm, Spine: 6mm
Weight: 80g
ISBN: 9781787330856
ISBN 10: 1787330850
Pages: 64
Publication Date: 15 June 2018
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

J. O. Morgan is a Scottish author. His 2018 work Assurances, looking at the RAF's early involvement with maintaining the nuclear deterrent, won that year's Costa Poetry Award. He has been twice shortlisted for both the Forward and the T. S. Eliot Prize. Appliance is his second novel.

Reviews for Assurances

I seriously doubt I will read a more significant book of poetry this year. The finale is truly affecting, a plangent and profound speck of light. -- Stuart Kelly * Scotsman * [JO Morgan's] remarkable new book Assurances [is] a gripping narrative poem. -- Tristram Fane Saunders * Telegraph *