Poetry. From a student's confrontation with a teenage streaker, to a company man's complete undoing at his summer party, Michelle Brown's SAFE WORDS finds rich darkness in happy partnerships. A maiden name is "handed down / like a sweater," a taxi ride "ends...at someone else's life." Played against a backdrop of pop culture, late-night swagger and vivid imaginary landscapes, SAFE WORDS is the rare poetic debut that delivers passion and control, wielding humour and empathy in equal parts.