Public. Open. Space

Public. Open. Space. is a collection of poetry inspired by spaces, places and situations that are controlled and contested online and in real life. Looking at firewalls and feminism, activism and apathy, Public. Open. Space. explores freedom and suppression, censorship and silencing, propaganda and protest, as well as the difference between being told ‘no’ and choosing to say it ourselves. Positioned at the intersection of poetic and digital culture, this collection explores the sense of placelessness increasingly resonant for all of us who live and work in the digital realm.

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK

‘Public. Open. Space. is a considered, tender, and accomplished debut from a poet to watch.’ Maxine Beneba Clarke

‘Kate Larsen’s work radically rehumanises the institutions that shape our lives … Take this book in your hands and be prepared for it to radicalise you. Maybe just a little; maybe, just enough.’ Arts Hub

‘Larsen offers a distinctive perspective on topics rooted in feminism yet extending to broader political and interpersonal concerns. Her work guides readers through the complex landscapes of our modern world, urging us to engage in the critical dialogues of our time.’ Jess Checkland, WritingWA

‘Kate Larsen’s Public. Open. Space. is a conversation as much as it is a poetry collection. Through a series of hybrid lyric narratives over the course of the work, discussions are opened between writer and reader: on political power, on personal control, and on the ways in which these forms of restraint might-and can be-resisted.’ Ellie Fisher, Westerly