Simon Maddrell and Nathan Evans read from their collections published for LGBTQ+ History Month 2026 at the Common Press.
Their respective poetry books, lamping wild rabbits and Homography, will be shared with you that evening as well as a conversation between the two authors, followed by a Q&A.
About the books:
lamping wild rabbits is a polyvocal and multifaceted debut, unafraid to confront the shame and stigma of HIV, while never allowing the poems to lose shape or pace, altering the lens to bring attention to birdsong and the queer body in nature. Maddrell has achieved a distinct and totally convincing sound through the literary geography of this collection, published by Out-Spoken Press, one that gives the impression it’s been everywhere and returned because it survived.
‘A queer odyssey, an exquisite and arresting chronicle of the journey from shame to belonging. Bold, surreal, surprising and elegant; this is a breathtaking debut.’—Joelle Taylor
Homography: mapping multiple perspectives of a single subject; words with the same form different meaning (see gay); homosexual history approached through autobiography; projective transformation (from personal to political plane). Freddie Mercury and Derek Jarman are just some of the icons you’ll find within poems exploring queer heritage through queer relationships—using imagery drawn from the natural world and the underworld of fetish, in forms as diverse as the LGBTQ+ community, with humour, hope and honesty.
‘A collection filled with verve and passion. Its formally playful and politically engaged poems burst from these pages like a ferocious bouquet.’—JOHN McCULLOUGH
About the authors:
Simon’s poetry appears in & Change, AMBIT, Acumen, Gutter, Magma, Poetry Wales, The Gay & Lesbian Review, The London Magazine, The Moth, The Rialto, Under the Radar, and others. Their sixth pamphlet, Patient L1, is published by Polari Press.
@simonmaddrell
www.simonmaddrell.com
Nathan’s poetry is published by Magma, Fourteen Poems, Muswell Press, Broken Sleep, Manchester Metropolitan University, Royal Society of Literature and others. His collection Threads was longlisted for Polari First Book Prize; his collection CNUT is published by Inkandescent.
@nathanevansarts
www.nathanevans.co.uk