Estate

Sasha Dugdale's poems explore the mysterious solitudes of individual lives with tender, unsparing lucidity. The book opens with a sequence written at the Pushkin family estate. The great Russian poet, setting out to St Petersburg, turns back when a hare runs in front of his horse: the superstitious act saves his life. Such chance or fated moments where paths cross are at the heart of the collection. A boy on a train, passing a gold chain through his fingers, sparks a buried childhood memory in a watching passenger; lovers reach out to touch in the dark, while, a dying soldier holds to the sight of house martins swooping over a pool. In fragmentary meetings, Dugdale finds a source of hope and art.

From reviews of Notebook, Sasha Dugdale's first collection: '...a beguiling and unusual debut, its best poems at once elusive, satisfying and likely to go on being read.' Sean O'Brien, Times Literary Supplement

Sasha Dugdale was born in Sussex. Between 1995 and 2000 she lived and worked in Russia. In 1999 she initiated the Russian theatre New Writing project with the Royal Court, London, and currently works as a translator and consultant at the Royal Court. Four of her translations have been staged -- Plasticine by Vassily Sigarev won the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright. She has had poems published in Oxford Poets 2002 and New Writing 12 (Picador 2003). In 2003 she received an Eric Gregory Award.