In But & Though, Jake Hawkey scrutinizes the impact of parental addiction on families, its title a nod to the language of dependency, its circles of prevarication and excuse. Hawkey’s poems chart the loss of a father and the resilient love between siblings, and take an unflinching look at a parent–child relationship sometimes painfully inverted through alcoholism.
Hawkey’s fresh perspective and playful style introduces a vital, authentic new voice in British poetry. It will appeal also to those interested in the wider literature of addiction and the complexities of urban working-class life in Britain. Hawkey approaches these subjects from highly original and personal angles, breathing life into his characters and settings. Ultimately, we come to know a young writer attempting to ‘detach with love’ as he strides forward into his own life.