Cafs (Paperback)

Holly Pester

ISBN 10: 1804272027 / ISBN 13: 9781804272022

Published by Fitzcarraldo Editions, London, 2026

About this Item

Paperback. Welcome to Cafes! Somewhere to eat and forget about work, where we can meet friends and not think about love, where we can meet lovers and be too nervous to eat. In Holly Pester's unique lyric, the cafe becomes a structure of fantasy and language exploring life at the pressurized edges. It becomes a form - a canto or a verse - unearthing what this space promises us in terms of freedom and thought, and what it holds back. In each iteration, the cafe remakes itself through the people who pass through it. A worker tries to run a cafe franchise. A lover sits in the corner, waiting. A woman mourns a friendship while contemplating age and childlessness. An artist tries to launch an art cafe and hosts an open mic. Both a stylish political intervention and an elegy for communal space, Holly Pester's newest collection reaffirms her as one of the most exciting poets of our time. An illuminating anti-epic poem, Cafes is a satirical search for utopias. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781804272022

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Cafs (Paperback)
• Publisher: Fitzcarraldo Editions, London
• Publication Date: 2026
• ISBN 10: 1804272027
• ISBN 13: 9781804272022
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

An illuminating anti-epic poem, Cafés is a satirical search for utopias.

Welcome to Cafés! Somewhere to eat and forget about work, where we can meet friends and not think about love, where we can meet lovers and be too nervous to eat. In Holly Pester’s unique lyric, the café becomes a structure of fantasy and language exploring life at the pressurized edges. It becomes a form – a canto or a verse – unearthing what this space promises us in terms of freedom and thought, and what it holds back. In each iteration, the café remakes itself through the people who pass through it. A worker tries to run a café franchise. A lover sits in the corner, waiting. A woman mourns a friendship while contemplating age and childlessness. An artist tries to launch an art café and hosts an open mic. Both a stylish political intervention and an elegy for communal space, Holly Pester's newest collection reaffirms her as one of the most exciting poets of our time.

About the Author

Holly Pester is a writer and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Literature, Film and Theatre, University of Essex. Her books and works include Ecloques for Idle Workers (BBC Radio and Distance No Object, 2018), Comic Timing (Granta, 2021), which was shortlisted for the Forward Prize, and The Lodgers (Granta, 2024). She is based in Essex, England.