Surge

by Jay Bernard

*Shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection 2019*

Jay Bernard’s extraordinary debut is a fearlessly original exploration of the black British archive: an enquiry into the New Cross Fire of 1981, a house fire at a birthday party in south London in which thirteen young black people were killed.

Dubbed the ‘New Cross Massacre’, the fire was initially believed to be a racist attack, and the indifference with which the tragedy was met by the state triggered a new era of race relations in Britain.

Tracing a line from New Cross to the ‘towers of blood’ of the Grenfell fire, this urgent collection speaks with, in and of the voices of the past, brought back by the incantation of dancehall rhythms and the music of Jamaican patois, to form a living presence in the absence of justice.

A ground-breaking work of excavation, memory and activism – both political and personal, witness and documentary – Surge shines a much-needed light on an unacknowledged chapter in British history, one that powerfully resonates in our present moment.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, LGBT, Queer, London, History, Race

58 pages, Paperback

First published June 20, 2019

Reviews

[Trudie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surge was available from my library as a downloadable audiobook and since this is my only option for borrowing books at the moment I took the leap.
Read by the author, Jay Bernard, this turned out to be the ideal method to absorb this book of poetry. I let the calming cadences of the authors voice wash over me for an hour and appreciated it took some of the work out of reading the poetry for myself (never one of my key skillsets). It surely helps to have the poems that are songs, actually sung and to hear the rhythms as the author meant them to be. I do think for maximal understanding I need the book in front of me as well, I particularly missed seeing the poems laid out. The detailed authors note explains the historical background that inspired this collection and lets you know that this is not going to be an easy listen but the resulting poems are powerful and sobering.

If this is contemporary poetry at its finest then I need to read/listen to some more.

[Alice-Elizabeth (Prolific Reader Alice) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook via BorrowBox!

If you do give Surge a read, definitely go with the audiobook version. Jay narrates it and is extremely good and rhythmic with each poem. Before the poems start, there is an opening introduction into how the collection came to be. It includes research into the New Cross massacre in 1981 where thirteen young black people were killed and the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017. Very powerful writing.

[Eric Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The question of how we should memorialize victims of injustice, those who've been forgotten or those whose stories can't ever be known is a difficult one. Jay Bernard writes a powerful introduction to their book of poetry “Surge” explaining how they conducted research into the 1981 New Cross Fire which was also called the New Cross Massacre and claimed the lives of 13 young people. Many believed this was a racist attack and the reverberations of this unresolved case are still felt today - especially when there are eerily familiar new cases such as the Grenfell Tower fire. Bernard’s poems poignantly embody the spirit and voice of people involved in these incidents including family members in mourning, bystanders, protesters and even the victims themselves.

Some poems reflect more on Bernard’s own personal experience to discuss issues to do with gender, sexuality, national and racial identity because, as the author states, “Many questions emerged not only about memory and history, but about my place in Britain as a queer black person. This opened out into a final sense of coherence: I am from here, I am specific to this place, I am haunted by this history but I also haunt it back.” What forms over this book's journey is a communion and convergence of voices who rightfully insist upon a presence in the nation’s collective memory. These poems are artfully infused with a political urgency, sensitively consider the weight of history and punch through the past into the present day.

Read my full review of Surge by Jay Bernard on LonesomeReader

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a writer-in-residence at the George Padmore Institute, a research centre for radical Black history, in 2016, Bernard investigated the New Cross Massacre, a fire that killed 13 young people in 1981. In 2017, the tragedy found a horrific echo in the Grenfell Tower fire, which left 72 dead. This debut poetry collection bridges that quarter-century through protest poems from various perspectives, giving voice to victims and their family members and exploring the interplay between race, sexuality and violence. Patois comes in at several points, most notably in “Songbook.” I especially liked “Peg” and “Pride,” and the indictment of government indifference in “Blank”: “It-has-nothing-to-do-with-us today issued this statement: / those involved have defended their actions and been … acquitted / retired with full pay”. On the whole, I found it difficult to fully engage with this collection, but I am reliably informed that Bernard’s protest poems have more impact when performed aloud.

Readalikes: In Nearby Bushes by Kei Miller, A Portable Paradise by Roger Robinson and Don’t Call Us Dead by Danez Smith

Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

It all started on 18 January, as part of my desultory (by then) following of The Guardian’s Feed Your Soul 31 day literary diet for January. MIND BLOWN! https://youtu.be/_ANbixVTnU4 I listened 3 times in a row, did some research, and came back to listen again a couple of times over the following week. Then I noticed my library had this eBook available in its ‘new to library’ offering. I took it as a sign.

I’ve never been known as a reader to read, let alone enjoy, poetry. Just not my thing. Obviously I simply hadn’t come across the right poet! Jay Bernard is my kind of poet - confronting, lyrical, innovative and emotional. Their examination of the New Cross and Grenfell Towers fires act as bookends to this collection, which also includes works exploring gender identity and race, at length.

I’m saving that 5th star in case I get the opportunity to read the audiobook at some time in the future.

Start on YouTube by all means, but do delve into the book as well.

[Miles Edwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I take this January morning in my hands and wonder
if it should go under London, England, Britain, British, Black-British -

where to put the burning house, the child made ash, the brick in the back
of the neck, the shit in the letter box and piss up the side of it?

I file it under fire, corpus, body, house.
From the poem Ark (pg.2)

A harrowing and raw debut collection that explores the trauma of the New Cross Massacre and how it continues to reverberate through our society today through tragedies such as Grenfell. There were so many poems in here that blew me away, but my favourite were two poems that work as a pair, + and - (pages 13 and 14).

There were some poems in Surge that I felt didn’t fit in with the others, and, whilst they didn’t detract from Bernard’s powerful pieces, they made it a jagged reading experience at times. I may be completely wrong but, for me, some of the placements felt a bit off, so I would’ve personally reorganised them to make the collection flow better.

Favourite Poems
Ark
Songbook (highly recommend looking up Bernard’s reading of this poem on YouTube)
+
-
Kitchen
Proof
Hiss
Songbook II
Chemical
Flowers

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a moving book of poetry that was mainly inspired by two tragedies in Britain: The New Cross Massacre and the Grenfall Tower Fire.

Forty years ago on January 18th, 13 young black people lost their lives and dozens more were injured after a birthday party became engulfed in flames. Several in the community believed it was a case of arson as there had been several instances of hostility from far right groups in the area. The lack of response from government officials spurred activists to organize and hold what would be the largest social justice march in Britain at that time. Called the Black People's Day of Action, more than 20,000 people took part in the march. Authorities still have not determined whether it was arson or accidental and no one has been held responsible.



The second tragedy was the Grenfell Tower Fire in which 72 people died. In this case the cause of the fire was quickly determined - faulty wiring of a refrigerator. So why the fallout from the public? Grenfell Tower was set in a predominantly affluent area but housed mostly poor immigrants of color. Although newly renovated, the building had many code violations. Some of these issues had been brought up by the residents but had been ignored. Furthermore, when residents called to report the fire officials told them to stay put. By the time that the fire brigade arrived they didn't have enough water pressure and while they waited the 32 minutes it took for the high ladder to arrive emergency personnel discovered that the building had a single staircase and no sprinklers. There was no way that the building's occupants could possibly get out safely then. They were trapped.



What makes Bernard's poetry so much more emotional is that they use archives from the victims' families to inform and frame their work. The three poems that I found the most powerful were: Arrival, Proof and Flowers.

[Marc Nash · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best poem was "Sentence" about the Grenfell Tower fire which eerily echoed the 1981 Deptford Fire that is the main focus of this collection. I also found the poems in patois particularly good, read them aloud for full effect.

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prachtige poëzie!

[Carmijn Gerritsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection deals with some interesting topics surrounding the New Cross Massacre and Grenfell Tower fire, such as race and belonging. The style was very experimental and builds on extensive research. However, I found the poems to be quite flat and similar in tone. This made it a bit monotonous to me.

[Charles Edwards-Freshwater · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful and eye-opening collection of poetry that doesn't hold back the righteous anger and frustration surrounding two landmark instances of racial injustice and tragedy - the 1981 New Cross Fire that killed 13, and the Grenfell Tower tragedy that claimed the lives of 72 individuals in 2017.

Jay Bernard has obviously done a lot of research into these incidents, and the poems are an interesting blend of looking at these tragedies from both close and outside perspectives. As ever, with all poetry collections I thought there were some poems that were more powerful and affecting than others, but in general this is a very strong collection that uses few words to make a considerable impact.

My one, fairly minor criticism would be that I don't think many of the poems were particularly memorable and that a lot of them ultimately felt quite similar - obviously the themes explored are consistent, but I think a little more variety would've elevated this collection further.

3.5/4 stars

[Fern A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a powerful collection of poetry this is! This is not a book of ‘nice’ or ‘pretty’ poems, this is a book to make you sit up, listen and take notice.

Jay Bernard’s debut is incredible and strong. Many issues are explored, some I ignorantly knew nothing about (but will know go away and research) while others we all have heard of such as the fire of Grenfell tower. This is a book that is very much political and takes an activist stance.

I listened to the audiobook version, narrated by the poet and am so glad I did. The poems aren’t just read aloud but performed and it made me appreciate the rhythms and amazing talent behind the words.

[Tania]

Not being much of a poetry appreciator (though I keep trying) I don’t think it’s fair for me to rate this ‘officially.’. There are a number outstanding, heartbreaking works, especially in the first half, that are obviously about the New Cross fire or it’s aftermath. In the latter half I struggled to extract the meaning of many of the works, which is my typical experience of reading poetry. Unofficially, it’s a 3 star.

[Em Power · Rating 5 out of 5]

britain's systemic racism is sickening.
my favs in this book were apple, pem-people and patois. i also liked pride because us lgbts are epic.

[Wout Landuyt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Op aanraden van Yumi, “blank” p. 48 vond ik best, mochten er mensen zijn die hem ook bezitten.

[Eve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some really amazing and relevant poetry in this collection.

Based on some really interesting and under represented events that aren’t as spoken about as they should be in literature. I remember Grenfell happening and how it was forgotten. This work aims to re-establish conversations and I think it is successful. Would defo read more of their work.

[Bel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic set of poems about the New Cross Fire and Grenfell, with some exploration of queer identity in between. The poems from the point of view of the young people who died in the fire, watching and addressing their families afterwards, were particularly poignant. Fantastic, deeply moving and just really fucking sad that so little changed in 36 years: more than the lifetime of the poet.

I rather liked the queer focused poems, so I'll look for more of those from Bernard. Also never thought I'd read a poem about a mooncup, but glad I now have.

Probably only docking a star because of my inexperience with poetry.

[peg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book of poetry has been shortlisted for the 2020 Dylan Thomas award, a prize given to a writer under the age of 39 (the year of Dylan’s death)

Bernard takes the subject of the 1981 New Cross Fire and with the help of documents and photographs looks at the tragedy from different perspectives. The section that effected me the most was titled “Clearing” and was narrated by a young man who died in the fire. I will not be surprised if this book wins the final prize.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

god i wish i read more poetry. beautiful prose, centered on how to memorialize victims of racial justice and the legacy/lack thereof one leaves behind, the idea of haunting back history. definitely want to listen to a lot of these.

“will anybody speak of this/the way the fearless dying leaves/speak of the coming cold/and the quiet it will bring?”

[Lila Nadar · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most powerful works of poetry I've ever read. Bypassed the mind altogether to get to the heart.

[Jacqui · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful, sad, uplifting, thought-provoking

[Marnick Moens · Rating 5 out of 5]

A damning mirror for any society that historically mistreats its colonially rooted population. Immensely human, with all the scabs of peeled wounds and burnt flesh underneath. Infuriating, gripping, necessary.

[Greg Giannakis · Rating 4 out of 5]

While like most poetry collections, there were certain poems that fell flat, the ones that didn't were absolutely heart-wrenching. Centred mostly around the horror of the New Cross Massacre, the poems are rich with little gems like "the light that evening turned blue to siren blue" or "every year / I hear summer ask how autumn / can endure / winter's undoing". Sprinkle in references to Grenfell, Windrush/their Caribbean roots, their sexuality and their identity as non-binary, and you have an immensely powerful and all-consuming debut. It's been such a pleasure too to return to my favourite poems again and again, and to get something, notice something more with every read. Can't wait to see what they come out with next.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

SURGE - DYLAN THOMAS READ.
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‘I am haunted by this history but I also haunt it back.’
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I ordered Jay Bernard’s book Surge because Max Porter said this - “I would have been lost this year (as any other) without poetry to cling to and travel with. If I had to choose a single book of the year it would be Jay Bernard’s Surge. It is an extraordinary artistic and political achievement and one of the most important British books of the last decade.”
Obviously I HAD to read this book and then lo and behold it was long listed for the Dylan Thomas prize. Double whammy.
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Let me tell you a bit about Jay Bernard as I find him a fascinating person.
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Jay was born in 1988,he grew up in Croydon London,he is thirty two years old and the middle child of three. He uses the pronouns they/them. He is described as a writer,artist,film programmer and activist. His grandmother was the first black councillor in Croydon and the first black member of the inner London education authority.
Jay’s favourite word is ‘Mother’ (again,how could I not like this person!) and in an interview Jay describes how he writes a lot about birthing,biological clock,things being unborn and reborn.
.
This collection of poems are about two fires, The New Cross Fire and Grenfell. The fire that Jay focuses on is the New Cross Fire which happened in 1981. Thirteen black teenagers were killed in a house fire in south east London. Although the fire was obviously investigated the cause of it was never found. It was seen as a hate crime. The government silence increased tensions within the black community and later there were riots and demonstrations.
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Bernard writes a three page authors note at the beginning of Surge explaining about the New Cross Fire and how he came upon the story many years later. Then soon after,Grenfell happened.
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Bernard says “The most chilling aspect of this was the lack of closure,the lack of responsibility and the lack of accountability at the centre of both the New Cross fire and Grenfell. Jay adds “institutional indifference to working class lives left nearly eighty people dead.”
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MY THOUGHTS.
As you might have picked up by now this is a powerful,fierce collection of poems. It deals with heartbreaking and unjust subjects. Jay is a charismatic person. I highly recommend looking him up on utube to see for yourself what I mean. He performs poems with style,he is actually mesmerising. The rhythm of his words bounce along and one has stuck in my head for weeks,it’s that catchy. He is not afraid of silences as well as words and the silences speak volumes. In interviews Jay comes across as a well spoken young person,it is clear he is worldly,has a strong social conscience and is capable of conveying deep thoughts to others. I am impressed.

[Moon Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

How do we memorialize those who have suffered injustice and have been forgotten? Bernard begins this collection with a brilliant, powerful introduction. Outlining the research into the 1981 New Cross Fire (also known as the New Cross Massacre) that claimed 13 young lives. Many believe it to have been a racist attack and the reverberations are still felt today, so Bernard parallels it with the Grenfell Tower fire, an eerily similar case.

Bernard's writing is poignant and thoughtful and respectfully embody the voices of those lost their lives, those who lost loved ones, onlookers and protesters, whilst some of the poems reflect Bernard's own experience with gender, sexual, national and racial identity, studying their own place in Britain as a queer black person, stating "I am haunted by this history, but I also haunt it back."

The book forms an insightful, thought provoking, heartwrenching journey and provide convergence for them to occupy a space in history that they should rightfully have, rather than being forgotten.

I picked this up in the library as I have been struggling through a reading slump and sat reading it in a window overlooking the skyline of South London. I live incredible close to New Cross so learning about the irreversible damage the fire caused to the community through such brilliant words was heartbreaking.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a big fan of poetry, but this collection really stayed with me. Jay Bernard undertook a lot of research into the New Cross House Fire of 1981, the aftermath and the links to the Grenfell atrocity. I suspect a lot of the nuance and parallels will have gone over my head, but I found it to be powerful and bold - not something I think I've ever said about a poetry collection!

Huge congratulations must also go to the author for being longlisted for the 2020 Jhalak Prize (which is how this collection came to my attention)!

[Suzy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

I wish I understood poetry better, as it seems undoubted that my rating would have been higher if only I did. ‘Surge’ came highly recommended by a friend of mine who does understand such things (being that he himself is an incredible poet, and all), but I was left waiting for the punch to the gut that I want from poetry. It just didn’t come in this case. The topic, the inspiration, the concept were important and heart-achingly relevant. I just didn’t quite get that raw and deep immediacy through the page that I hoped for.

[Maddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first compulsory reading on a module that I am currently taking at university. I don't normally engage with poetry but I found Bernard's writing to be both haunting and captivating.

The subject material, of post-colonialism and systematic racism, was harrowing. I had prior to reading this poetry collection never heard of the New Cross Fires. Bernard related this tragedy to the Grenfell tower fire, Bernard's focus on spirits and the young lives lost in the tragedy made this a lyrically beautiful but deeply upsetting read.

[Rosie · Rating 5 out of 5]

remembering Grenfell, the lost loved ones, the survivors, the bereaved - today and forever more, no words will ever be enough.
to the thirteen who lost their lives in the New Cross Massacre, and the fourteenth soul who took their own life later - rest in power, you will never be forgotten.
i hope one day justice will be served for those lost and the families who survive them.

[Yusra · Rating 5 out of 5]

No words, I’m speechless. Just wow.

Having met the author at a reading, I knew this would be an important one. Having read this I can now say that I felt the pain of each and every victim mentioned. I felt the pain of their families, their friends, the community, and I thank the author for taking me on this personal journey and educating me.