How to Pour Madness into a Teacup by Abegail Morley

Shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection

How to Pour Madness into a Teacup is a compelling first collection from a poet whose exploration of mental illness is acutely observed, wry, poignant, dark and humane. Deceptively simple poems are layered with precise observations and meaning that resonates long after reading. Lucid and accessible, this is poetry that takes risk with stunning results.

Praise for How to Pour Madness into a Teacup

It has fallen to Abegail Morley to draw aside the veil suspended between the world we know and the unholy of unholies that lies beyond. We are shown the painted veil of everyday life only to have it slashed with a knife before our eyes, allowing us to glimpse the horror that lies within, sometimes frightening but always lit with a strange visionary beauty. Morley’s poems are daredevil ambassadors to a savage place.

Hugo Williams

Moving, sensitively written, compelling, …well worth a read.

Sophie Hannah

Abegail Morley Abegail Morley is guest poetry editor of The New Writer. Her collection How to Pour Madness into a Teacup (Cinnamon 2009) is shortlisted for the Forward Prize Best First Collection (2010); the title poem was previously nominated for the Best Single Poem. She has been placed in competitions, winning the Cinnamon Press Poetry Collection Award 2008 and an Orbis Readers’ Award. Her work appears in anthologies and a wide range of journals including the Financial Times, Interpreter’s House, Other Poetry and The Spectator.