In Strangers, Rebecca Tamás explores where the human and nonhuman meet, and why this delicate connection just might be the most important relationship of our times. From ‘On Watermelon’ to ‘On Grief’, Tamás’s essays are exhilarating to read in their radical and original exploration of the links between the environmental, the political, the folkloric and the historical. From thinking stones, to fairgrounds, from colliding planets to transformative cockroaches, Tamás’s lyrical perspective takes the reader on a journey between body, land and spirit—exploring a new ecological vision for our fractured, fragile world.

Essays:
On Watermelon • On Hospitality • On Panpscychism • On Greenness • On Pain • On Grief • On Mystery

Rebecca Tamás’s poetry and criticism has been published widely. She is the co-editor of Spells: Occult Poetry for the 21st Century, with Sarah Shin, published by Ignota Books and her first poetry collection, WITCH was published by Penned in the Margins in 2019; to praise from the Poetry Book Society, the Guardian, Telegraph, Irish Times, TLS, White Review and The Paris Review. Rebecca is a lecturer in Creative Writing at York St John University, where she co-curates The York Centre for Writing Poetry Series. She is represented by Emma Paterson, at Aitken and Alexander.

Longlisted for the 2021 Rathbones Folio Prize

‘​A fascinating, lyrical exploration of the eco-political, from human and non-human bodies to landscapes. Tamás’ essays are deeply rooted in folklore and the fragility of existence. A stunning work of enquiry and eloquence.’
—­­­ Sinéad Gleeson

‘So full of insight, compassion and reason’
– Anthony Anaxagorou

‘Rebecca Tamás creates a shifting perspective in her essays which illuminates while giving unexpected pleasure.’
– Amit Chaudhuri

‘Bursting with intellectual generosity. Deep wide roots and radical shoots. ’
—­­­ Max Porter