Jacob Sam-La Rose has been described as 'a one-man literary industry'. This was Patrick Neate's comment on the BBC Poetry Season website: 'Passionate about poetry and its power to change people's lives, he's a lesson to us all. He's also a damn fine writer.' Already well-known on the UK performance circuit, Sam-La Rose has also spent many years working with young people in schools and communities, especially around London. So it will come as a surprise to many that Breaking Silence is his first book-length collection of poetry. It is a collection that sits on the threshold between the personal and the profound, with eyes on race and dual heritage; masculinity and manhood; definitions and senses of self. Above all, it's a collection that's invested in the power of the voice, in the work of giving a voice to issues and entities that would otherwise remain silent. It speaks on divides, from the spaces in between. Jacob Sam-La Rose's work is grounded in a belief that poetry can be a powerful force within a community, and that it's possible to combine the immediacy of poetry in performance with formal rigour and innovation on the page. Shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection and the Aldeburgh First Collection Prize

About the Author
Jacob Sam-La Rose was born in London in 1976. He was managing director of a web development studio before becoming a freelance writer and editor. He is the Artistic Director of the London Teenage Poetry SLAM, Editor-in-Chief of Metaroar.com, and an editor for flipped eye press. He also facilitates a range of literature-in-education, creative writing and spoken word programmes through schools, arts centres and other institutions. His work has appeared in many anthologies and journals, including Identity Parade: New British & Irish Poets (Bloodaxe), Poems For Love (Penguin), I Have Found a Song (Enitharmon Press), Red (Peepal Tree), Learn Then Burn: The Ultimate Poetry Guide for the High School or College Classroom (Write Bloody) and Michael Rosen's A-Z: The Best Children's Poetry from Agard to Zephaniah (Puffin). His pamphlet Communion was a Poetry Book Society Pamphlet Choice in 2006. Breaking Silence (Bloodaxe Books, 2011), his first book-length collection, was shortlisted for both the Forward Prize for Best First Collection and the Fenton Aldeburgh First Collection Prize 2012.

Reviews
Poetry that is - fresh, vivid and masterly in its evocation of contemporary Britain. -- Choman Hardi & Martyn Crucefix * PBS Bulletin *


Awards
Short-listed for Felix Dennis Forward Poetry Prize for Best First Collection 2012.



Book Information
ISBN 9781852249151
Author Jacob Sam-La Rose
Format Paperback
Page Count 72
Imprint Bloodaxe Books Ltd
Publisher Bloodaxe Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 113g
Dimensions(mm) 216mm * 138mm * 6mm