The Butterfly Bush (Paperback)

William Wyld

ISBN 10: 1913268969 / ISBN 13: 9781913268961

Published by Bad Betty Press, 2026

About this Item

Paperback. William Wyld's The Butterfly Bush exposes the mercurial, merciless absurdities of living in a body, of grief, art and hope, the way a garden, up close, reveals an endless orchestra of life: its dirt; its baroque and brutal euphoria. 'This is a crushing debut pamphlet on the surrealism of death and the queerness of loss, in the lineage of Emily Berry and Franz Kafka. "You were so sweet / and kind, Mum, but your corpse is a fucking nightmare," Wyld's speaker sighs, or deadpans, or screams. Just when they appear to be stuck forever in a weird nightmare, they find some comfort, some interest to get them through. The Butterfly Bush is a testament to Wyld's endless curiosity: reader, return that gaze and your attention might just pupate into a butterfly.' Helen Bowell'Wyld has a unique voice; simultaneously alarming and seductive. You might think you know where a poem is going, only to be met by a sudden switch that is catnip for the synapses. Wyld weaves a sensuous spell rooted in the materiality of life. Their surreal humour creates space for fresh ideas about the interplay of experience and survival, injury and bereavement.' Lisa Kelly'An expansive, maximalist project with an alluring, permeating strangeness. The turns are constantly surprising, the language delicate and luscious but the images bodily and caustic. The recurring image of dirt across these poems becomes a semantic burial plot, a way through elegy that focuses on the soil beneath our feet.' Susannah Dickey William Wyld's The Butterfly Bush exposes the mercurial, merciless absurdities of living in a body, of grief, art and hope, the way a garden, up close, reveals an endless orchestra of life: its dirt; its baroque and brutal euphoria. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781913268961

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Butterfly Bush (Paperback)
• Publisher: Bad Betty Press
• Publication Date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1913268969
• ISBN 13: 9781913268961
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

William Wyld's The Butterfly Bush exposes the mercurial, merciless absurdities of living in a body, of grief, art and hope, the way a garden, up close, reveals an endless orchestra of life: its dirt; its baroque and brutal euphoria.

'This is a crushing debut pamphlet on the surrealism of death and the queerness of loss, in the lineage of Emily Berry and Franz Kafka. "You were so sweet / and kind, Mum, but your corpse is a fucking nightmare," Wyld's speaker sighs, or deadpans, or screams. Just when they appear to be stuck forever in a weird nightmare, they find some comfort, some interest to get them through. The Butterfly Bush is a testament to Wyld's endless curiosity: reader, return that gaze and your attention might just pupate into a butterfly.' Helen Bowell

'Wyld has a unique voice; simultaneously alarming and seductive. You might think you know where a poem is going, only to be met by a sudden switch that is catnip for the synapses. Wyld weaves a sensuous spell rooted in the materiality of life. Their surreal humour creates space for fresh ideas about the interplay of experience and survival, injury and bereavement.' Lisa Kelly

'An expansive, maximalist project with an alluring, permeating strangeness. The turns are constantly surprising, the language delicate and luscious but the images bodily and caustic. The recurring image of dirt across these poems becomes a semantic burial plot, a way through elegy that focuses on the soil beneath on our feet.' Susannah Dickey

About the Author

William Wyld is a poet, visual artist and carpenter from London. They were highly commended in the Forward Prize for Best Poem: Performed, the Creative Futures Awards and the Bridport Prize and placed third in The Moth Nature Writing Prize. They have performed widely including at the Queen Elizabeth Hall alongside the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and been published in 14 Poems, Propel, Wet Grain, Basket and elsewhere. William is a member of Wild Thing eco-poetry collective, a Southbank Centre New Poets Collective alum and a Poetry Archive Now winner. Their paintings have been exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Show and Discerning Eye, and their constructions and costumes have appeared in independent film, theatre and museum installations across the UK. The Butterfly Bush is their first book.