Housmans are delighted to be welcoming the Finnish poet Kaisa Saarinen, and a host of special guest readers, to the shop to lift-off her new hybrid collection of poetry and fiction Maitonaut (after the Finnish word for milk). Published by new_sinews editions, a new independent press edited by Steve Barbaro in Chicago. 

There is escapism, yes — but then there is transcendence. And the more MAITONAUT self-reveals the more we see hints of full blown eternity hidden within the blur of modern everydayness. Mixing poems and fiction and narrators with the fluidity of water becoming ice then vapor, Kaisa Saarinen’s second collection self-escapes somehow in the midst of its very self-materialization.

Kaisa’s performance of Maitonaut fragments will be accompanied by guest readings from JD Howse, Michael Kabasele & Bart Seng Wen Long.

Our Readers:

Kaisa Saarinen is a former feral farmgirl currently based in London. She has previously published one collection of poetry, fiction & photography (Voideuse, Feral Dove 2022) and one novel (Weather Underwater, Bellows Press 2023). 

JD Howse was born in Lancashire and raised in London. He has a BA and MA in English and Creative Writing from Royal Holloway, University of London and works in Print Production. He works across poetry, prose, collage, and film, and his work has appeared in numerous magazines and journals. His poetry collections include Just Meat Not God, Noises Again, and This is a Dagger, and his debut novel Distraction! is forthcoming.

Michael Kabasele is a poet based in London. She writes poetry absolutely everywhere, in locations including (but not limited to): at tables in pubs, locked in the bathrooms of public areas, by rivers, by the sea, on national rail trains, on the Tube, and even in her bedroom (sometimes). She writes poetry about absolutely everything— sometimes earnest, sometimes gross, sometimes sexy, but always quite odd. Michael is a weird little girl, and always has been. Above all, though, Michael is a poet.

Bart Seng Wen Long is an artist-filmmaker and independent curator. His practice involves moving images, photography and performance, and explores the political economy of desire through processes of fetishisation. His short story Queer Cinema was published in excerpt by Sticky Fingers. Bart is currently working on a long form research-based art project about rubber in Southeast Asia. 

As always, tickets are priced on a sliding scale. If you are unable to pay for a ticket please do not hesitate to contact us at shop@housmans.com, and a free ticket will be made available.

If you choose ‘book + event entry’ your copies of the book will be available to collect on the evening. If you would like to collect it earlier, or arrange for delivery, please contact us (postage is £2.95). Telephone 020 7837 4473 or email shop@housmans.com.

Doors Open at 7pm, Event Starts 7:30

Feel free to Bring Your Own Bottle!