A flatlay of must-read poetry collections set against a navy blue background.

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Reading lists

The best poetry collections of 2021 so far

Teeth in the Back of my Neck

This is a courageous, arresting debut from a poet to watch.

Monika Radojevic's poems grapple with the intersections of race and womanhood with a bite fitting of this debut's title; her ability to weave gut-punching honesty with arresting imagery makes for a standout collection[...] Radojevic is no doubt a poet with a bright futureand Teeth in the Back of My Neck is a testament to the powerful things she has to say. An assertive and enthralling collection of poetry.

Radojevic writes with an uncompromising fierceness, provocation and dedication to the physical body which acts as her most authentic, intuitive medium of expression. She offers with this collection a vital contribution to literature at a time when women's voices urgently need to be heard.

Radojevic's interrogation of the status quo ... is not just interesting, it is agitating.

...her Instagram feed is a treasure trove of musings, powerful short poems and snapshots of her life.

A striking collection that showcases a voice representative of a new generation of writers, who are unafraid of tackling important issues relating to female experience.

This collection of poems felt so valid, feminist, organic, pulsing, provocative and reflective.

Monika Radojevic's poems grapple with the intersections of race and womanhood with a bite fitting of this debut's title; her ability to weave gut-punching honesty with arresting imagery makes for a standout collection[...] Radojevic is no doubt a poet with a bright futureand Teeth in the Back of My Neck is a testament to the powerful things she has to say. An assertive and enthralling collection of poetry.

An arresting debut collection about identity, ancestry and history, from a young poet selected as an inaugural winner of the #Merky Books New Writers' Prize, dedicated to discovering the best writers of a new generation 
 
Written with profound depth and insight, the poems in Teeth in the Back of My Neck explore the joys, the confusions and the moments of sadness behind having one's history scattered around the globe ­- and the way in which your identity is always worn on your skin, whether you like it or not. 
 
 Bristling with tension and beautifully realised, Monika Radojevic's impressive debut collection is an introduction to one of the most considerable and impressive poets of her generation.

Strangerland

Monika Radojevic is a Brazilian-Montenegrin writer and poet who was born and raised in London. She spent years working in the feminist political and sector, and her writing is a continuous exploration of power dynamics, inequality and freedom. Monika is the inaugural winner of the #Merky Books New Writers' prize, and writes to make sense of life. Her first poetry collection, Teeth in the Back of My Neck, was published in 2021. A Beautiful Lack of Consequence is her debut collection of short stories.

London, 1990. Zivoin is newly arrived in a strange country. The dependable oldest son, he works all hours of the day and night, sending every penny he can save back to his family. On the news, he watches his homeland, Yugoslavia, slowly fracturing. 
 
Thousands of miles away, in the tropical heat of Uberlândia, Brazil, Alegria prepares to leave behind the country – and the family – she loves dearly. Bright and ambitious, she strives to give her parents the life they deserve, even if it takes her far from them. 
 
A chance meeting throws Alegria and Zivoin together – and for a brief moment, they feel at home. But their journey is just beginning, and what follows will draw them irresistibly across countries and continents, leaving them both forever changed. 
 
The powerful, exhilarating debut novel from an award-winning new voice in fiction, Strangerland is a heartfelt testament to the endurance that has come to define a generation of immigrants. Above all, it is a soaring, emotionally rich story about the power of love to transcend languages, borders and time.

Monika Radojevic

Visceral, wild, and so beautifully necessary.

Salma El-Wardany, author of These Impossible Things

Radojevic’s stories and fragments are so sharp-edged they could draw blood. Fierce, funny and angry.

Fuelled by rage, these fiery, staunchly women-centred stories are frighteningly real, but given a surreal slant that makes them all the more memorable

Radojevic’s writing is lyrical and imaginative, and is often written in the second person, pulling the reader into the stories, which – in some of the heavier-themed pieces – makes for breathless reading . . . Read it and be angry

Praise for Monika Radjoevic

Radojevic's interrogation of the status quo . . . is not just interesting, it is agitating.

A striking collection that showcases a voice representative of a new generation of writers, who are unafraid of tackling important issues relating to female experience.

'Tender, humorous and moving’ COSMOPOLITAN 
 
'Visceral, wild, and so beautifully necessary.' SALMA EL-WARDANY, author of THESE IMPOSSIBLE THINGS 
 
'Radojevic’s stories and fragments are so sharp-edged they could draw blood. Fierce, funny and angry.' CATHERINE MAYER, author TIME/LIFE 
 
*** 
 
Across thirty striking tales, Monika Radojevic weaves together the surreal with the everyday, confronting the experiences of contemporary womanhood with a tender ferocity shot through with humour.A woman walks into a bar, and nobody notices. A newly married couple are punished for their childlessness with an unsettling nocturnal invasion. A girl trades her vocal cords for a chance at freedom. A door-to-door salesperson offers the antidote to women’s fear – but it comes at a high price. 
 
Bubbling with an urgent rage that occasionally tips over into vengeance, Radojevic deftly charts the moments that make a life: from the warmth of first love to the recognition of anger, and the possibilities that take shape as we find or lose our ability to speak. A Beautiful Lack of Consequence explores the ways in which the world bends and breaks women with the pressure it puts on them – and what happens when those women snap back. 
 
Moving and irreverent, dark and otherworldly, A Beautiful Lack of Consequence is a blazing debut collection from the winner of the #Merky Books New Writers’ Prize. 
 
*** 
 
'Thoughtful, introspective and darkly funny' READER REVIEW 
 
'So beautiful and raw' READER REVIEW 
 
'Biting . . . a must read!' READER REVIEW

Monika Radojevic

Praise for A Beautiful Lack of Consequence

Visceral, wild, and so beautifully necessary.

Radojevic’s stories and fragments are so sharp-edged they could draw blood. Fierce, funny and angry.

Tender, humorous and moving

Visceral, wild, and so beautifully necessary.

Radojevic’s stories and fragments are so sharp-edged they could draw blood. Fierce, funny and angry.

Tender, humorous and moving

Visceral, wild, and so beautifully necessary.

Radojevic’s stories and fragments are so sharp-edged they could draw blood. Fierce, funny and angry.

Tender, humorous and moving

Books by Monika Radojevic

Articles featuring Monika Radojevic

The best poetry collections of 2021 so far

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