Verity Spott


Verity Spott is an English neo-modernist poet. Spott was born and raised in Yorkshire, and moved to Brighton in 2006. Since then Spott has been teaching poetry in local institutions, as well as co-running a monthly poetry and musical performance event called "Horseplay".
Spott is an alumnus of the University of Sussex.

Reception

Spott's work has been described in the The [New York Times|New York Times] as, "mesmerizing, oneiric, enchanted, with language that surprises". An analysis of their poetry in the Chicago Review alludes to critical correlations between political situations and escapism, calling in to question the "very binaries of political engagement and escapist withdrawal, the idea that hope is the foundation for action...and the relationship between imagined actions and real ones." In 2019 Spott performed a series of ballades at Horseplay called "Alligators", whilst three Cuvier's dwarf caimans were released into the audience. Spott later described the incident as "possibly a mistake in retrospect" although no injuries took place. Spott's work has been discussed in the Cordite Poetry Review, and critiqued in the book, Wound Building: Dispatches from the Latest Disasters in UK Poetry, among other publications. One of Spott's poems, "from Coronelles – Set 2", is included in 100 Queer Poems, which The Guardian described as 2022's "most notable anthology".

Selected works

  • Three Poems. London: Sender Broken, 2013.
  • Effort to No. Brighton: Iodine, 2013.
  • Dear Nothing and No One in It. Brighton: Iodine, 2013.
  • Gideon. London: Barque Press, 2014.
  • Three Poems, Edinburgh Sad Press, 2014.
  • Balconette. Guildford: Veer Books, 2014.
  • 9 11 16. Brighton: Iodine, 2016.
  • Trans* Manifestos, 2016.
  • We Will Bury You. Guildford: Veer Books, 2017.
  • Click Away Close Door Say. Contraband Books, 2017.
  • Kate's Dream Diamond Anti Fatigue Matting Surface. Crater, 2017.
  • Poems. Face Press, 2017.
  • The Mutiny Aboard the RV Felicity. Tipped Press, 2018.
  • Prayers, Manifestos, Bravery. London: Pilot Press, 2018.
  • Caterpillars. TL:DR Press, 2019.
  • Poems of Sappho. Face Press, 2019.
  • Prayers, Manifestos, Bravery. London: Pilot Press,, 2020.
  • Hopelessness. London: The 87 Press, 2020.
  • Coronelles Set 1. London: Veer Books, 2020.
  • 70 Sonnets. Brighton: Hove Space Program, 2021.
  • Désolation . Lyon, Même pas l'hiver, 2022.
  • Woodvale . Brighton, The Minutes Press, 2022.
  • Songs of the Morning. London: Slub Press, 2023.
  • The North Road Songbook. London: Pilot Press, 2024.
  • Went to Get the Sink Unblocker. Philadelphia: Eternal Sections, 2025.
  • What If You Were The One Being Used As Equipment. Brighton, Ice Gresp Press, 2025.