‘A radiant debut from Sarah Lasoye. Her vision is sharp. Her voice is glisteningly clear.’
— Victoria Adukwei Bulley

The fovea centralis is a small depression in the retina that produces our sharpest vision. In this keenly perceptive chapbook, Sarah Lasoye ruminates on moments from the playground to the present day. Sitting across from her early memories, she begins to discern the watery contours of a primary self.

Through abstract and narrative poems, Lasoye’s temporal experiments open up a tender interior life and a need to anchor oneself in others. With no clean boundary between past and present, emergent preoccupations—with selfhood, goodness and want—persist and reappear. 

This compact collection keeps to itself—an inquisitive, personal contemplation on childhood and growth.

‘Rips the past out of its distinct casing and leaves its entrails on the page for inspection … illustrates how we make and unmake ourselves and each other.’ — Lola Olufemi, Poetry London

‘Lasoye’s isn’t a simple, sweet book. There are bones, knives, blades.’ — SPAM

‘Sharp, bright and inquisitive. A tender universe.’ — Rachel Long, author of My Darling from the Lions

‘An intimately rendered collection … Language is deftly deboned here, laid bare like a scraped knee, into poems of wondrous observation.’ — Momtaza Mehri, author of Doing the Most with the Least

‘With an unassuming yet unmistakable sure-footedness in each deft step, this is a body of work to be admired.’ — Jacob Sam-La Rose, author of Breaking Silence

‘A radiant debut from Sarah Lasoye. Her vision is sharp. Her voice is glisteningly clear.’ — Victoria Adukwei Bulley, author of Girl B

‘Written with joy and intention, every poem is as perfectly sculpted as the one before it. A gorgeous debut that will stay with you long after reading.’ — Hibaq Osman, author of where the memory was

‘Visionary … a collection of prismatic, Time-traced lyrics where memory and matter braid together and where muscle and image, clarity and mystery are kith and kin.’ — R. A. Villanueva, author of Reliquaria

SPAM DEEP CUTS 2021 — SPAM

In Conversation with Poet Sarah Lasoye (Part 1)‍ ‍(Part 2) — Roar News

REVIEW: In the Sick Hour & Fovea / Ages Ago — SPAM

REVIEW: Embracing Vulnerability — Poetry London

EXTRACT: When a story tells itself to stop — The New Statesman

29 April 2021
Paperback / 9781914221002
ebook / 9781914221064
198 × 129 mm
84 pages