Octagon [Paperback]

Some poems are better written in flesh . . .

After Wall Street and Tahrir Square, after ISIS and the NSA, after Ferguson and Eric Garner: here come the poets.

In a downtown poetry slam with a place on the team to be won, eight young poets prepare to do battle. But backstage it's all kicking off with love triangles, families to feed and wounds to rip open. And in the end, is it about winning ??? or finding the words that need to be said?

Octagonreceived its world premiere at the Arcola Theatre, London, on 16 September 2015.

Kristiana Col??n is a poet, playwright, and actor from the USA. Her honours include a Pushcart Prize nomination, and her work has been included in Dzanc Books' Best of the Web 2010 and the anthologiesNot a Muse: The Inner Lives of Women, a World Poetry Anthology (2009) andChorus: A Literary (Re)Mixtape(2012). Col??n has taught at Chicago State University, Malcolm X College, and Tribeca Flashpoint Academy. Assistant Editor for the online literary journal Muzzle and Artistic Associate for the theater company Teatro Luna, she lives in Chicago.

???Col??n's is clearly an individual, interesting voice . . . There are some pertinent, difficult subjects addressed without fear or timidity . . . Col??n is a writer to watch.??? ???Daily Telegraph on bt i could only whisper

???Col??n's script includes some beautiful poetry. And there are certain moments that are so well acted, so poignant, that they bring tears to the audience's eyes.??? ???New Statesman

???A beautifully sophisticated play . . . with humour, tenderness, rage and lust??? ???Time Out on bt i cd only whisper