Matt Abbott launches his début adult poetry collection 'Peacocks Can't Swim', published by Broken Sleep Books on 31 Jan.

The event will include a live set followed by a relaxed Q+A-style section. It'll also be a great opportunity to socialise with fellow poets or poetry readers!

Praise for Peacocks Can't Swim

“I could spend all day in the company of Matt Abbott's poems and never get bored. Formally inventive, attuned to the ways people really speak and the ways they really think — this is a poet who could tackle any subject and make it feel new, challenging and relatable all at the same time.” Helen Mort FRSL

“Peacocks Can’t Swim represents a remarkable transformation in the work of an already accomplished writer. This is poetry operating at the peak of its powers: these poems reveal, provoke, invite, are unashamed, complicate without obfuscating, are frank without simplifying. These are bold, nuanced, compelling works; sometimes funny, sometimes gut-wrenching, but always beautifully layered and strikingly generous in their vulnerability and scope.” Molly Naylor

“Whether he’s giving us a glimpse behind music industry machinations or exploring the angst of becoming, Abbott offers insight and tonic to a generation of men pulled in a thousand different directions. The poetry here is intimate, relatable and thoughtful and serves as a handbook for the paranoias, pains and passions of masculinity. From indie sleaze hedonism to tender reflections on parenting and marriage, Abbott’s writing always retains his charm, verve and a good dose of Northern warmth.” Michael Mullen

“I enjoyed diving into the deep end of Matt Abbott’s latest work, Peacocks Can’t Swim — a bright and stunning collection, a timely exploration of a life lived in full colour. Such a refreshing honesty in every generous page. I found this new poetry incredibly moving, profoundly personal and wildly provocative.” Salena Godden FRSL

“These songs of innocence and experience are united by Matt Abbott’s ability to tell stories that sizzle off the page, like a car burning down the road, leaving us dazed and exhilarated. Carrying us on journeys from the past to the present, the poems here are ordered by a willingness to grapple with narratives of self and society. In its declaration that “this isn’t the world they sold you”, this collection mirrors the multiple levels of anomie that are now a part of the vernacular of living. A moving, memorable playlist of noughties-era yearning. ” Andre Bagoo

Description supplied by the event organiser.