Rookie

Longlisted for the Polari Book Prize 2023. Caroline Bird is one of Carcanet's most popular poets. Her startling instinct for metaphor, the courage of her choice of subjects and the integrity of her witness, set her apart: a poem is a risk, and it has to be a risk worth taking for the poet and for the reader. Starting with Looking through Letterboxes in 2002 when she was fifteen years old, she has published six Carcanet books, culminating in The Air Year which was awarded the Forward Prize in 2020, shortlisted for the Polari Book Prize and the Costa Poetry Prize, and a Book of the Year in the Telegraph, Guardian and White Review. Rookie presents a formidable body of work composed over two decades from one of the poetry world's most energetic and consistently compelling voices.

Longlisted for the Polari Book Prize 2023. Caroline Bird is one of Carcanet's most popular poets. Her startling instinct for metaphor, the courage of her choice of subjects and the integrity of her witness, set her apart: a poem is a risk, and it has to be a risk worth taking for the poet and for the reader. Starting with Looking through Letterboxes in 2002 when she was fifteen years old, she has published six Carcanet books, culminating in The Air Year which was awarded the Forward Prize in 2020, shortlisted for the Polari Book Prize and the Costa Poetry Prize, and a Book of the Year in the Telegraph, Guardian and White Review. Rookie presents a formidable body of work composed over two decades from one of the poetry world's most energetic and consistently compelling voices.

A love letter to the rookie in all of us: Singer-actor Joshua Bassett's fearless memoir in verse about surviving the darkest moments of fame, addiction, and mental health struggles--and finding hope on the other side. "We're all figuring it out as we go along. Even the 'pros.'" This brutally honest collection reveals what it's like to have your most private moments become public--what really happens when you give a broken teenager the world at his fingertips, then watch him nearly lose everything. "This is, to date, my most vulnerable and terrifying piece of work." From the depths of addiction and suicidal ideation to the hard-won lessons of recovery, Bassett shares his journey with raw vulnerability and courage. Along the way, he discovers that even in our darkest moments, we can choose to keep moving forward. "The only way out of fear is to face it again and again until it loses its grip." More than a memoir, Rookie is a movement celebrating the sacred space between who we've been and who we're becoming. A hopeful roadmap and practical wisdom for anyone learning that your worst moments don't define you, even when the whole world is watching. "I keep waiting for the sea to settle when I need to learn how to surf." For anyone who's ever felt like an outsider, struggled with self-doubt, or wondered if things can get better, this book is for you.

A love letter to the rookie in all of us: Singer-actor Joshua Bassett's fearless memoir in verse about surviving the darkest moments of fame, addiction, and mental health struggles--and finding hope on the other side. "We're all figuring it out as we go along. Even the 'pros.'" This brutally honest collection reveals what it's like to have your most private moments become public--what really happens when you give a broken teenager the world at his fingertips, then watch him nearly lose everything. "This is, to date, my most vulnerable and terrifying piece of work." From the depths of addiction and suicidal ideation to the hard-won lessons of recovery, Bassett shares his journey with raw vulnerability and courage. Along the way, he discovers that even in our darkest moments, we can choose to keep moving forward. "The only way out of fear is to face it again and again until it loses its grip." More than a memoir, Rookie is a movement celebrating the sacred space between who we've been and who we're becoming. A hopeful roadmap and practical wisdom for anyone learning that your worst moments don't define you, even when the whole world is watching. "I keep waiting for the sea to settle when I need to learn how to surf." For anyone who's ever felt like an outsider, struggled with self-doubt, or wondered if things can get better, this book is for you.