A second collection of poetry has been released by a noted writer and poet.

Simon Maddrell has seen his latest set of poems, entitled ’Queerfella’, released, following his success in a prestigious poetry competition.

Simon, who currently lives in Brighton but is originally from the Isle of Man, saw his collection recently voted as the joint winner of the ’Rialto Open Pamphlet Competition, 2020’, which publishes the winning collection as part of the top prize.

’Queerfella’ came out in late December last year.

There are two poems featured which are specifically about the Isle of Man, including the title poem and ’Half Rotten, Half New’, unlike his previous collection, ’Throatbone’, which exclusively featured poems written about his relationship and feelings about his Manx family connections and the island’s past and current attitudes towards homosexuality.

’It’s a timely win,’ said Simon.

’Especially with the new drama ’It’s a Sin’ being aired and this being LGBT+ history month.

’Queerfella is a poetic journey of growing up gay and Manx through the 1980s.

’It’s a journey from shamed to unashamed, sadness to forgiveness.

’But it’s not just a collection for the LGBTQ+ community with the judge Will Harris recognising the universal appeal of both winners.

’He said that "They’re vivid and shifting pieces of writing, strange and sad, continually disclosing new subtleties of thought and emotion. I feel like they have things to teach me about being human, about how to live with trauma, loss and love".’

’Half-Rotten, Half-New’, which is a touching piece about sailing off the south coast of the island with his father, was also long-listed for The Rialto Nature and Place Competition 2020, and the cover of ’Queerfella’ also features a basking shark, as mentioned in the poem.

l ’Queerfella’ is currently only available to buy online from therialto.co.uk