Chris Tutton - Poet
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The existential poetry of Chris Tutton is imbued with an uncommon sensitivity. In this, his eighth collection, familiar notions of love, loss, identity, communication, vulnerability, language and truth are exquisitely deconstructed, affectingly re-evaluated; laid bare and scrutinised with a philosopher's eye.
Published in 2023 by Avalanche Books ISBN: 9781874392200. 143 pages. Available internationally.
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Disaster is only a handful of words away. And they are already being spoken.... An abused young boy craves the affection of his crusading mother, who brutally rejects him in favour of cultivating the dependence of lonely and desperate strangers. Acolytes who will, when promised emancipation from their suffering, cater to her every bizarre and catastrophic whim without question. Poignant, harrowing and humorous, this poetic, bitter-sweet, dreamlike fable examines the corrosive pain of social isolation and emotional vulnerability, the devastating fragility of devotion and the power of love to transport us to perfect, imperfect and dangerously unpredictable places.
Published in 2020 by Avalanche Fiction ISBN: 9781874392040. 398 pages. Available internationally.
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In his seventh collection, Chris Tutton laconically revisits familiar themes of communication, vulnerability, language and truth, exploring the fertile, inventive relationship between love and imagination, the seductive perfection of romantic reverie and the indefatigability of disillusion. Read review.
LiteratureWorks interview.
Published in 2016 by Avalanche Books ISBN: 9781874392224. Available internationally.
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Exquisite, affecting, visceral, laconic, Angles of Repose, Chris' sixth collection of verse uncompromisingly deconstructs the often ambiguous nature and complex psychology of personal relationships in a sustained and occasionally humorous meditation of the fragility of life, love, intimacy, identity and communication.
'A heady mixture of almost fin de siècle decadence, modern interjections and parodic playfulness. It leaves a weird flavour in the head because it doesn't talk like you're supposed to talk when writing poetry these days and I like that.' Christopher J.P. Smith, Acumen
Published in 2012 by Avalanche Books ISBN: 9781874392606. Available internationally.
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Seasons of Winter is Chris Tutton's eagerly awaited fifth collection published to widespread critical acclaim. Chris Tutton's ravishing linguistic dexterity, combined with a keen intellect and a refreshingly offbeat, sardonic emotional honesty, renders his engaging style incomparable.
Published in 2005 by Avalanche Books ISBN: 1874392234. Available internationally.
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This is Chris Tutton at perhaps his most accessible. Exquisite vignettes of haunting narrative pared down to the sinew.
Published in 2003 by Avalanche Books ISBN: 1874392080. Available internationally.
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Published in 1999 by Avalanche Books ISBN: 1874392102. Available internationally.
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In this, his second collection, Tutton loses none of his vitriolic wit or his penchant for the absurd; but ultimately, his colourful and often disturbing circus of the sardonic and the surreal yield to a profoundly emotional landscape of loss in which flows a constant feeling of restlessness, of inconsolable yearning and regret.
Published in 1995 by Avalanche Books ISBN: 1874392986. Available internationally.
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'In a way this collection is a product of the grim days we live in. It's hard to believe in love, or God or traditional values when war and famine haunt our dreams. This book has a stream of consciousness feel to it. We are invited to eavesdrop on Nigel, Martha, Wendy, Norma, Elsa, Ann, Mavis, Deirdre, Martin and Thomas who are trying to laugh and smile and joke at a party where the air has turned sour and they're finding it hard to breathe. One has the sense of a writer struggling with his soul, searching desperately for something to believe in but the tried and tested icons no longer have the power to soothe the troubled spirit... However in 'Ariadne's Lament' Tutton also focuses on the misuse of power, religious or otherwise. There is the spectre of the bomb and the horror of child abuse. Each piece drops into the brain with a dull thud and leaves a bitter taste in the mouth... Tutton takes a familiar image and gives it a fresh slant. I get the sense that Tutton is a romantic living in a hard bitten century, he wants to find the joy in life but, as the cover of the book illustrates, Edvard Munch's screaming figure screams on! His characters are not just hard on what they see and experience, they are also hard on themselves... one senses that they are hard on themselves because they care deeply but can find no way of redressing the balance.
This is not a book to settle down with if you are looking for a cosy read by the fire, but if you don't flinch at the nightmare landscape of Terminator 2, check this one out!' Foreword
'An easy to read collection of 90 pages of controversial work. Excellent!' New Hope International
Published in 1993 by Avalanche Books ISBN: 1874392005. Available internationally.
Chris Tutton with Mimi Khalvati, Moniza Alvi, Martyn Crucefix, Neil Powell, Ian Seed, Debjani Chatterjee, Alison Brackenbury, Lawrence Sail...
Spring of the Muses presents an uncompromising celebration of poetry, painting, music and dance. The histories of art and poetry and of poetry and music have always been creatively intertwined and this anthology brings together a vibrant collection of poems and short prose upon the theme.
Published in 2019 by Avalanche Books ISBN: 978 1 874392 06 4. Available internationally.
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Chris Tutton with Michael Schmidt, Linda France, Mimi Khalvati, Moniza Alvi, Lawrence Sail, Chris Tutton, Ian Seed, Martyn Crucefix, Alison Brackenbury, Kathryn Daszkiewicz, Matt Harvey...
A panoply of vivid colour, this collection on the theme of the four seasons draws together a range of magnificent contemporary poetry and prose, expertly evoking the character and emotions of the changing seasons.
'A sumptuous journey of an anthology exploring our relationship to the
idiosyncrasies of the changing seasons and the abundance of nature at each
step of the way' Skylightrain
'The reader is guided through the four seasons by a host of poets . . . skilfully lulling language and experimentation with forms and meanings . . . inspires thought, reflection and inspiration in equal measure' Literature Works
Published in 2018 by Avalanche Books ISBN: 978 1 874392 02 6. Available internationally.
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Chris Tutton with Patience Agbabi, David Constantine, Mimi Khalvati, Michael Schmidt...
Wordstrokes explores the symbiotic relationship between images and words. It is a colourful, emotive and stirring collection of poems inspired by the art of painting, living and loving and contains beautiful word pictures by some of the UK's finest poets. Read review.
Published in 2015 by Avalanche Books ISBN:9781874392262. Available internationally.
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Chris Tutton with Leonard Cohen, Henry Shukman...
A celebration of the symbiotic relationship between poetry and music.
Published in 2012 by Avalanche Books ISBN: 9781874392699. Available internationally.
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Chris Tutton with Sir Paul McCartney, Seamus Heaney, Wendy Cope, Carol Ann Duffy, Margaret Atwood, Leonard Cohen...
A moving collection of beautiful poetry in aid of Breakthrough Breast Cancer and Breast Cancer Care.
Published in 2010 by Avalanche Books ISBN: 9781874392682. Available internationally.
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Chris Tutton with Fiona Sampson, Philip Gross, Matthew Sweeney...
An anthology of modern verse on the theme of dreams. Edited by Deborah Gaye.
Published in 2008 by Avalanche Books ISBN: 9781874392422. Available internationally.
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Amazon
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