Poetry / debut collection
Suzannah V. Evans publishes acclaimed debut poetry collection: ‘Under the Blue’
Suzannah V. Evans is an award-winning poet who has performed internationally.
Having previously held positions at the Universities of Durham and Teesside respectively, she currently teaches literature and creative writing at the University of Bristol, and tutors for Bristol Folk House, City Lit and The Poetry School.
Evans is the editor of the anthology All Keyboards are Legitimate: Versions of Jules Laforgue (Guillemot Press), and the author of Marine Objects / Some Language, as well as Brightwork – which was written during a residency at Underfall Yard.
is needed now More than ever
Suzannah V Evans (cropped) – photo: © Naomi Woddis
In her personal life, her experiences of being a caregiver have led her to becoming a strong advocate for the carers who so are so often rendered invisible or voiceless by society, striving to raise awareness of the issues they face.
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As of September 2025, her new and critically acclaimed collection of prose poems, postcards and letters has been published by Bloomsbury.
Under the Blue is described as “a deeply candid exploration of both the beauty of life and the realities of care; an evocative collection exploring “empathy, intimacy and togetherness, sickness and pain, what can be said and what remains unsayable”.
Suzannah V. Evans, Under the Blue cover – photo: Bloomsbury Poetry
POSTCARD WITH A TURN
G in her black dress with the golden bees. Scent of bay leaves. The dinner, everything delicious, gravy made with carrots, celery, and wine.
My grandmother is falling asleep, her head is dropping, only she is not sleeping, something is wrong, she is breathing in quick pants, it is like she is sleeping, she is groaning. We hold her hands, we talk to her, we scrabble and run for the phone, I start to dial –
‘No.’
I talk the whole time, ‘you’re falling asleep, we’ve just had a lovely dinner, it was quite a lot really, we’re all here’, my grandmother’s hands are cold, G holds one, I hold one.
She comes round, ‘back in the land of the living’, she comes round and she talks.
25 December 2021
Extract taken from Under the Blue by Suzannah V. Evans, which is out now, published by Bloomsbury Poetry.
Evans will be appearing as part of Raise the Bar with Ife Grillo on September 16; tickets are available at www.headfirstbristol.co.uk. Follow @suzannahvevans for future events and updates.
Main photo: Suzannah V Evans
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