Buy Claremont Road £5.95 + P & P

Some nice things people have had to say about Claremont Road…

A valuable voyage, tossed and memory-tumbled over the battleground … ‘self-medicated’ visions of entropy and sensual returns.
Iain Sinclair

Commited social rebels sharing their lives with down and outs, the homeless, druggies and drinkers, in a loose-knit, tentative community. Dub rhythms (or what Hawkins calls ‘loose-boned blues’) and personal memories drive this collection along. It’s original and moving and I look forward to seeing where Paul Hawkins’ poetry squats next.
Rupert Loydell

Not just amazing poetry (which it is). Not just a fascinating piece of social history (which it is)… but a record of emotions and a homage to ordinary individuals unveiled with a passionate intensity… we at erbacce love this collection … cliche to say it but it’s a genuine ‘must read’…
Alan Corkish

Not the kind of poetry the taxman was talking to Mayakovsky about. This ticks boxes…
Tim Wells

A pamphlet of protest and ‘broken piano lungs’ that showcases Paul Hawkins’ extraordinary range. Both an experimental and unflinching snapshot of a now lost community, Hawkins sure-footedly sidesteps clichés of romantic dilapidation. This is ‘a survival jive’ for our times.
Claire Trevien

There’s an unflinching, forensic gaze at work here that holds you spellbound; you don’t want to look but can’t help it. This is the heart of darkness in the east end of London during the Thatcher years: depression, addiction, evictions; the tide and time of love, sex, the bitter fight to overcome. Although it is dark, it is not entirely hopeless, there are moments of tenderness and unity that build a barricade against despondency. The poetry is rich and lyrical, with a probing experimentalism that challenges both the subject and the form, from sonnets to collage and found poems. This is a joy-ride of a pamphlet, so strap yourself in and feel the buzz.
Neil Rollinson

Reviews of Claremont Road

Rupert Loydell for Stride Magazine

Alan Baker for Litter Magazine

Billy Mills for Sabotage Reviews

published by erbacce-press (December 2013)
cover artwork by Sarer Scotthorne