Fox Populi

By Kate Fox

Click the 'Extracts' tab above to read our exclusive interview with Kate Fox, plus sample poems from the book.Fox Populi takes poetry on a hilarious, Creature Comforts-style journey through the crackly airwaves of contemporary culture. Radio-mic in hand, Kate Fox listens in on comedians and psychiatrists, Great North runners and nutters, and the staff of a call centre in modern-day Tynemouth. Herself a familiar voice on BBC TV and radio, this first full-length collection confirms Kate Fox's position as one of the UK's most popular poet-comedians.

"Funny, quirky and a wonderful writer."
Sarah Millican, stand-up comedian

"Self deprecating and wry throughout, this is poetry that is both accessible, true and wise."
The Crack

"Sylvia Plath channelling Victoria Wood"
Matt Harvey

Kate Fox is a poet, performer and comedian. Born in Bradford in 1975, she is the Poet in Residence on BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live. She has been the Poet in Residence for the BBC2 coverage of the Chelsea Flower Show, and for the Great North Run in 2011 and 2012. Her poems have been broadcast on the BBC2 Daily Politics show, BBC Online, Amnesty International and Radio 3's The Verb with Ian McMillan. Her one-woman Edinburgh Festival show, Kate Fox News, toured the UK in 2010-11 (4 stars, Sunday Telegraph). She has also appeared at several other major festivals including Latitude, Aldeburgh and Cheltenham. Her poems recently appeared in The Iron Book of Humorous Verse (Iron Press, 2010). She lives in Thirsk, and writes a weekly column for The Journal newspaper in Newcastle.

This book is also available as a eBook. Buy it from Amazon here.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Smokestack Books
• Release date: Sep 30, 2013
• ISBN: 9780957574779

Kate Fox

Kate Fox is a stand-up poet, spoken word artist and broadcaster. She’s a regular contributor to Radio 3’s The Verb, has made two comedy series for Radio 4, been Poet in Residence for the Glastonbury Festival and the Great North Run and completed a PhD in stand-up comedy at the University of Leeds. Her books include Fox Populi, Chronotopia, The Oscillations and Where There’s Muck There’s Bras: True Stories of the North of England’s Women.

Reviews for Fox Populi

[shabanah fazal · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An extremely enjoyable read. Deceptively light, witty and acutely observed poems. As the title suggests, this collection of verbally inventive poems runs the gamut of low brow, high brow and everything in between: gutsily Yorkshire, working class and female, but at the same time nakedly vulnerable and philosophical too in ways that we can all connect with. Most of these poems reward multiple re-readings, apart from some performance-only poems that rely solely on the punchline for their effect. In fact, the stage is where many of her poems work best; I was lucky enough to see her perform live and found her a fantastically charismatic, entertaining performance poet. Do catch her live if you can, or listen to her on Radio 4’s The Verb, where you can often hear her talking eloquently about poetry.