Malcolm: a story in verse
By (Author) Leni Shilton
UWA Publishing
UWA Publishing
24th September 2019
Australia
General
Non Fiction
Modern and contemporary poetry (c 1900 onwards)
821
Paperback
100
Width 140mm, Height 210mm
400g
Adark verse novel full of the humanity of its author who also works in violence prevention programs and has a keen ear for the complexities of living without safety nets and certainty.
Set in Melbourne's underbelly, Shilton uses her expert grasp on the verse novel format to tell the story of Malcolm a seventeen-year-old boy whose mother is killed at the hand of his father. His childhood has been marred by this violence. After his mother's death, Malcolm leaves the safety of his grandfather's home to live on the streets, choosing to make his own family. He lives in a Melbourne squat with a group of friends. Together, they face the daily struggle of life on the streets and the edge of society.