We're delighted that recent PBS Recommendation Mary Jean Chan has been awarded the Costa Book Award in the poetry category for her first collection, Flèche, which judges called a “staggeringly beautiful mix of the personal and political”.
The Costas are intended to reward the most enjoyable book in each category. The winner of the overall £30,000 book of the year prize to be announced on 28 January.
In Flèche, Mary Jean Chan evokes the difficulties of reconciling one’s need for safety alongside the desire to shed one’s protective armour in order to fully embrace the world. As themes of multilingualism, queerness, psychoanalysis and cultural history emerge, so too does a richly imagined personal, maternal and national biography. This is a collection that feels urgent and true, dazzling and devastating by turns.
We're also excited to announce that Mary Jean Chan will be one of our new Pamphlet Selectors for 2020.
PBS Members can order Flèche by Mary Jean Chan with 25% off here