Poppy

A haunting exploration of memory, empire, and the detritus of British history.

In Poppy, Joseph Minden delves into the complex relationship between remembering and suppressing, revealing how the totems of remembrance often conceal darker truths. Through poems that traverse the battlefields of Flanders and the Somme, an ill-fated journey to Penang, and whispers of the Opium Wars, Minden unearths fragments of family myth and confronts the specter of familiar vampires, all while sifting through the debris of establishment British history.

Accompanied by the historian, Jason, and haunted by an old flame, Mina, the poems' protagonist grapples with separating memory from nostalgia, and empire from heritage. Longing becomes entangled with historical baggage, demanding a painful reckoning. Minden crafts a disturbing yet memorable music from the remnants he encounters, employing documentary evidence, personal testimony, dream narratives, prose, rhyme, and repetition to create a haunting and unforgettable experience. For readers interested in contemporary poetry that explores themes of history, memory, and identity.