One of our firm favourites, poet Hollie McNish’s latest collection, Virgin, explores a six-letter word with outsized power. A power that should also be outdated, but is sadly not. 

It is, as you’d expect from Hollie, a brilliant collection, packed with humour, rage, beauty, heartbreak and hope. She and Mick chat about dangerous words, what ‘virgin’ means to girls and women (and why it shouldn’t), the perils of mashed potato and how to come to terms with the phrase “making love”.  

Virgin is published by Fleet and available in all good bookshops. Details of Hollie’s tour can be found at holliepoetry.com.

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