The Barman Launch @ The Peckham Pelican

Come and help me launch my debut pamphlet, The Barman, from Bad Betty Press in a real-life bar! Well - pub. But that's where the unnamed barman works anyway...

There will be a reading, Barman-themed drinks, poems to take away on the night, a Q&A chaired by fellow Bad Betty Press poet Troy Cabida, and of course a chance to buy the pamphlet. Plus, as it's Pancake Day, there will be free pancakes! (First come first served.)

Please do a lateral flow test before you come - I'll do the same!

Register for your free place, and order a copy here (scroll to the bottom).

If you can't make the in-person launch, register for the online launch on 17 February, featuring Natalie Linh Bolderston, Jasmine Simms and Jenny Danes - and me, of course!

About The Barman

‘A unique collection of poems so full of heart, humour and ache.’ Rachel Long

‘Helen Bowell’s The Barman is as funny and good as it is precise, at home in the interstices between cultures and TV channels, chips and chip grease, romance and boredom.’ Will Harris

Helen Bowell and The Barman are a relationship from which you won’t easily look away. This debut pamphlet is a sharp, witty exploration of the nuances of a sometimes reluctant codependency. At times it feels like you are the third housemate, unashamedly pressing your ear to the wall to hear conversations as intimate as they are absurd. Bowell deftly interrogates what it means to feel both othered and adored, comfortable and wary. The Barman is an introduction to a poetic voice unique in its ability to subtly express its desires, leaving enough room for the reader to find parts of themself in the world it creates.

https://badbettypress.com/product/the-barman-helen-bowell/

About Bad Betty Press:

We're an independent publisher of new poetry, run by Amy Acre and Jake Wild Hall. We love writing that is bad (meaning good) and beautiful (‘a Betty’ in 90s slang). We love the strange, raw and risk-taking. We believe strongly in art’s capacity to challenge its own definition, to curve away from the norm, making space for more and varied voices. Our work is supported by Arts Council England.