Blue, Babe
Shagufta K Iqbal

Photograph: Kiran Gidda
ISBN: 9781916760462
eISBN: 9781916760479
Price: £11.99
Publication date: 3rd September 2026
Format: Paperback / eBook
Territories: World
Extent: 72pp
DCF: Poetry Collections
Blue, Babe examines the dynamics of family life, and how humans hold on to love and survival in illuminating poems, full of reflection and hope.
This second collection by Shagufta K Iqbal delves into the personal stories and experiences of women, amidst war and conflict, the global tourism industry and colonial legacies, climate injustice, and the domestic everyday.

Shagufta K Iqbal's debut poetry collection Jam Is For Girls, Girls Get Jam was described by gal-dem as “heart-wrenching and relatable”, and praised by Nikesh Shukla as “a socio-political masterclass”. Her writing is included in Slam: You’re Gonna Wanna Hear This, Spin! and The Book of Bristol. She has worked with the V&A, Tate, Southbank Centre, Hyderabad, Lagos, and Toronto Poetry Festivals. She has performed with Tedx WOMAD, Shambala and Glastonbury Festivals. Her poetry film Borders is a powerful exploration of displacement and resilience, and has received multiple international awards and screenings. She also writes for children.
Lady, the first full collection of poems by Laurie Bolger, arrives ‘all giddy with endorphins’ and explores the many roles girls and women are asked to play. Bolger’s poems turn her bold, funny and wise words on boys, body image and the pressure to make yourself fit into a pigeon-hole, when all you really want to do is soar away on your own wings.
The Nine Arches Press blog features poems from many of our poets, as well as interviews and articles.