Erased
In 2021, Polari Press published Erased, a limited edition hand-bound poetry pamphlet in which James McDermott took homophobic articles, speeches, legislation and biblical passages and made erasure poems out of them, to reveal queer subtexts and to turn these documents into gay-friendly pieces, in the hope of reclaiming those texts that tried to erase gay lives.
In the summer, we’ll be releasing a new edition as well as new limited edition artwork to mark the fifth anniversary of its first release.
Please note the cover design is to be confirmed.
I’m giddy with glee to be working again with Polari Press to reissue the publication and to create a new range of art, helping the poems and the timely message of Erased reach even more readers
James McDermott
Erased was a joyous collaboration between James and me. Now more than ever we need to challenge the erasure of our identities. It’s exciting to create a new edition that continues to push back and uses the bigot’s words against themPeter Collins
Brilliant and very beautiful. We love itGilbert & George
Erased deploys erasure poetry to answer back to decades of censorship and homophobia. In their re-making, we enjoy Tinky Winky as gay icon, and the ‘coming in’ of John Inman. Through selection and arrangement, the not-so-latent queerness of ‘American manhood’ magazines is illuminated. Removing ‘not’ from Section 28 legislation makes it a riot of celebration; the pluralised UK national anthem, an invocation to ‘save the queens’. The selective repeated blackout of a public notice becomes a litany of repression, where ‘police are toilets’; the un-mention-ability of Oscar Wilde’s Acts, transformed into an invitation ‘to be / out / hard’. Even God says he’s, “set my rainbow / in the clouds”’. Through selecting and reversioning these texts, we see that ultimately, in the witty words of Pride placards, ‘love is/power/love wins’Caleb Parkin
McDermott’s new pamphlet quivers with political tension and confirms him as a vital voice of queer British poetry. In a hostile world of microaggressions, and with a history that’s been less than kind to queer people, McDermott changes the narrative of homophobic documents, revisits their language and moulds it into a glittery powersong of wonder and unashamedly queer joy. ‘God save our gracious queens’ indeedSerge ♆ Neptune
A crystallised gem of a collection. Emotive, evocative, and ingenious. Using central conceit that keeps on delivering, James McDermott has uncovered something truly special, an iridescent revision of the canon and our received wisdomsRick Dove
£10.00
96 pre-orders available
Available from 31 August 2026
