A remarkable debut, he offers a playful, yet serious set of poetry which is full of nothing other than sincerity. Jackson Horizon Review McCullough has a very distinctive style of voice, creating a close affinity with the reader which builds to a wonderful empathy with the voices in this collection. Ben Wilkinson The Guardian he sheer heart-stopping quality of the better poems, however, which make this collection such a rewarding and moving debut. Sharp yet compassionate, formal yet nimble, the poems glitter with slang and modern culture while maintaining an engaging seriousness. John McCullough's debut collection introduces a writer acutely aware of poetry's transformative power, its ability to question assumptions and subtly shift perspective. At once bold and haunting, The Frost Fairs opens the door to a new country in the reader's imagination in its exploration of the possibilities of the human heart. Whether exploring Brighton seascapes or questions of empire, there is always in McCullough's writing an openness to seeing the world from an alternative point of view. In this collection, longing and losing condition all we see and hear, making the impossible suddenly plausible. Surprise and the uncanny are cherished as ways of returning to us the strange leaps and enduring power of our deepest yearnings. Formally deft and carefully crafted, this diverse range of poems uses language that is always musical and alive. The array of voices here is striking: taxi drivers report their most outlandish fares and hermaphrodite statues flirt with observers abandoned lovers watch frost fairs melting on the Thames and drag queens revel in the freedoms afforded by the Blitz. The pieces travel from ancient Alexandria to twenty-first century bars and council estates, behind everything the vastness of the sea and sky.

It explores love in many forms, from modern transatlantic relationships to hidden gay and cross-gendered lives from the past. Winner of the 2012 Polari Prize A Book of the Year for The Independent and The Poetry School Holiday Read in The Observer The Frost Fairs is a compassionate book with a global and historical scope, tackling science and city life from a range of surreal yet poignant angles.

The Frost Fairs by John McCullough