'Beneath the folk rhythms and the lyrical simplicities, Nichols's poems preach disquiet' OBSERVER'Not only rich music, an easy lyricism, but also grit, and earthy honesty, a willingness to be vulnerable and clean' GWENDOLYN BROOKS'Grace Nichols has wit, acidity, tenderness, any number of gifts at her disposal' JEANETTE WINTERSONCelebrating five decades of the feminist publisher, each of the Five Gold Reads represents an iconic moment in Virago's history, from the 1970s to today. A stunning collection of poems from Grace Nicholas, winner of the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry 2021 Nichols gives us images that stare us straight in the eye, images of joy, challenge, accusation.Her 'fat black woman' is brash; rejoices in herself; poses awkward questions to politicians, rulers, suitors.In other sequences of this collection, Grace Nichols writes in a language that is wonderfully vivid yet economical of the pleasures and sadnesses of memory, of loving, of 'the power to be what I am, a woman, charting my own futures'.