Małgorzata Lebda and Joelle Taylor talk to Selina Brown

Poets Małgorzata Lebda and Joelle Taylor discuss the many and varied relationships between women, violence against women, and how women support one another.

Lebda’s novel Voracious follows a year in the life of a young woman caring for her dying grandmother. As her grandfather renovates a room for his wife, the women care for one another, for the plants and for the animals. Lebda is a poet with eight collections to her name. Voracious is the winner of Empik’s Best Newcomer in Poland and is shortlisted for the Angelus Prize, the Conrad Prize and the NIKE Award.

Taylor’s The Night Alphabet reveals interconnecting tales of a woman whose body is covered in tattoos. She reveals the story behind each tattoo to the artists linking all the art on her body together. It is a deep investigation into human nature and violence against women. Taylor is a queer, working class author of six plays and four collections of poetry, most recently C+nto & Othered Poems, winner of the 2022 TS Eliot Prize for Poetry and the 2022 Polari Prize.