The Coming Thing

by Martina Evans
The Coming Thing cover
Good Books rating 4.42
Poetry
Buy online
Bookshop
Format • £12.34
Waterstones
Paperback • £12.99
Amazon
Format/Price Check
Technical
  • ID: 2964
  • Added: 2025-10-16
  • Updated: 2025-10-16
  • ISBN: 9781800173460
  • Publisher: Carcanet Press Ltd
  • Published: 2023-09-28
  • Formats: 4
  • Reviews: 3

The Coming Thing is a celebrated long narrative poem by Martina Evans, known for her distinctive and abundant style. The poem delves into the life of Imelda, a character who navigates the challenging worlds of the 1980s, where old customs clash with new technologies. The 'coming thing' refers to the advent of computers and, ultimately, the abortion Imelda undergoes in a Brixton clinic. The poem is praised for its light touch and compelling exploration of themes like abortion, suicide, and euthanasia, set against the backdrop of economic change in Ireland. Evans's work has been acclaimed by notable figures like Colm Tóibín, who highlights her ability to weave random thoughts and images into a powerful narrative. The poem challenges received ideas about the sacredness of human life and the values of 'old' Ireland, making it a thought-provoking and emotionally resonant read.

Reviews
The Stinging Fly · Alyson Miller · 2024-07-23
innovative 4.50

The prose poem challenges conventions and bridges high and low culture. It is seen as a significant work that spans different cultural divides.

Alyson Miller highlights how this work skillfully undermines traditional conventions through its prose poem format. They appreciate how it effectively spans the divide between high and low culture, making it a unique and impactful read. Miller suggests that the work's ability to blend different cultural elements is one of its standout qualities. The reviewer finds the poem to be both innovative and thought-provoking, offering a fresh perspective on cultural intersections.

Quick quotes

    The prose poem undermines conventions and spans the divide between high and low culture; it is also, the critic Alyson Miller suggests, ...

    the heightened brevity of its compressed form hits the reader with ...

    It is brilliant in its conception and brave in its delivery.

The Guardian · The Guardian · 2023-10-06
compelling 4.75

The poem is celebrated for its vivid portrayal of 1980s Cork and its memorable narrator. The reviewer finds the world-building and character development to be particularly strong.

The Guardian reviewer highlights the powerfully realised world of 1980s Cork and the unforgettable narrator, Imelda, who embarks on a journey to England. They praise the vivid portrayal of the setting and the depth of the character development, which makes the poem engaging and immersive. The reviewer also appreciates the narrative's ability to capture the essence of the time period and the personal journey of the protagonist. Overall, they find the poem to be a compelling and well-crafted work.

Quick quotes

    In The Coming Thing, Martina Evans offers a powerfully realised world—Cork city in the 1980s—and an unforgettable narrator, Imelda, on a journey to England ...

    It is brilliant in its conception and brave in its delivery.

    The Coming Thing is a brilliant long narrative poem. It is not Evans's first: she has become celebrated for work on this scale, spoken, dramatic, abundant.

The Irish Times · 2023-09-26
pleasing 4.00

The book is praised for its collection of short poems that avoid overdoing emotional climaxes. The reviewer appreciates the subtle and restrained approach.

The reviewer at The Irish Times commends the book for its collection of 80 short poems, many of which are sonnet-length. They particularly appreciate how the poems avoid ratcheting up to overly dramatic conclusions, maintaining a subtle and restrained tone throughout. This approach is seen as a refreshing change, allowing the poems to resonate more deeply with the reader. The reviewer finds the collection to be a pleasing and thoughtful exploration of its themes.

Quick quotes

    The book offers 80 short poems, many of which are of sonnet length, but, pleasingly, they do not often ratchet themselves up to the final ...

    It's set in the 1980s Cork punk scene, and 'the coming thing' refers both to the arrival of computers and to narrator Imelda's looming ...

    In some ways this is not surprising as The Coming Thing is the latest from the ...

Appears in Lists