Published by Monitor, publication date 21 May 2026
In 1990, a girl moves to the USA. She goes to school, learns English, becomes an American citizen, and aspires to become a writer. But what is she to make of the extravagance, bombast, and damage she encounters in the new country’s language and customs? And what about the shrink-wrapped hunks of frozen meat, hurricanes, and the cat-eye marbles scattered on the road?
Hugely pleasurable, in turns funny and dolorous, Talk a Blue Streak examines how the act of writing declares a selfhood, but one that is always performative, looped, and curlicued.
Launch readings
Edinburgh – Saturday, May 23, 6.30pm: Fruitmarket Gallery with Colin Herd (Free, ticketed)
London – Saturday, June 6, 7pm: Hundred Years Gallery, with Vicky Sparrow and Jess Higgins (Suggested donation £5, not ticketed)
Bristol – Wednesday, June 24, 7pm: East Bristol Books, with Fatema Abdoolcarim (Pay as you can, ticketed)
Nottingham – Saturday, June 27, 4pm: Beam, with Jazmine Linklater and Alan Fielden (Free, ticketed)
Belper – Tuesday, July 14, 7pm, Dormouse Books, with Holly Pester (Free, not ticketed)