Ping!
by Iain Whiteley
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Ping! is a glittering xennial trip through Glasgow tenements, Lancashire bus stations and London theatres, leaping into the sea and beyond. In these poems, party queens, builders and greasy advertising execs ride shotgun with 1970s videogames, digital nomads and linguistic algorithms to tackle themes such as capitalism, kinship, politics and otherness. From kitchen sink drama to international terror, and from the death of the high street to the rise of AI, these are poignant-yet-playful poems for a post-pandemic world. Witty, tart and peculiarly philosophical, Ping! is the sound of a millennium gatecrashing its 21st birthday party – then passing out in the kitchen.
Praise for Ping!
"Ping! Is a uniquely reward poetic stroll - absuridst and ludic, but always authentic, insightful, convincing." - Cahal Dallat, winner of the Keats-Shelley Memorial Prize, 2017
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"I choose Iain Whiteley for my team. His collection Ping! made me laugh, made me see just how kitsch the cool can be and made me nostalgic for those evenings when you went out with a pack of friends in a first car with somebody opting to go in the boot." - Lorraine Mariner, author of Furniture & There Will Be No More Nonsense
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"His ability to pull anything into a poem, interrogate it and find some playful, yet thoughtful joy is absolutely thrilling!" - Richard Scott, author of Soho