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MY MARXIST VALENTINE By Deborah Finding
Releasing 2026.
Would he ever say, ‘I love you?’
Would she ever say, ‘You were right about historical materialism?’
The poems in My Marxist Valentine chart a relationship of contradictions between an idealistic and romantic narrator, and her eponymous antagonist, a man of science, study and silence, at least where love is concerned.
Seeking answers in the relationships of revolutionaries like Eleanor Marx, Rosa Luxemburg and Emma Goldman, and attempting to extract dating advice from Marx’s Capital, poet Deborah Finding invites the reader to consider if, when, and how love can be truly radical. It calls on a wide cast of characters, where Jane Austen goes up against Karl Marx to provide some critiques of leftwing hypocrisy, and a communist Mr Darcy finds himself referencing both Judith Butler and Taylor Swift on his search for the ideal anti-capitalist comrade to join him in the good fight.
The big ideas are presented with humour and generosity, achieving depth without sacrificing accessibility - making My Marxist Valentine a challenging, darkly funny and unexpectedly touching poetry adventure in search of solidarity and the true meaning of love.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Deborah Finding is a queer feminist writer with a background in academia and activism. She is the author of two poetry pamphlets, ‘Vigils for Dead and Dying Girls’ (Nine Pens, 2023) and ‘Amortisation’ (Live Canon, 2024), which won the Live Canon pamphlet prize. Her other publications include fourteen poems, Propel, Poetry Wales’ ‘How I Write a Poem’ series, Anthropocene, berlin lit, The Alchemy Spoon, iamb, and The Friday Poem, and she has also been widely anthologised. Deborah won the Write By The Sea single poem prize and the Indigo Dreams Spring Prize, and has been placed, shortlisted or commended for the Troubadour, Goldsmith, Live Canon, Hexham, Hammond House, Oxford Poetry Library, and Ver Poets Prizes . She has also written for The Guardian, Huffington Post and DIVA magazine. Originally from the North-East, Deborah now lives in London where she is the inaugural poet in residence at the Soho Poly.
Releasing 2026.
Would he ever say, ‘I love you?’
Would she ever say, ‘You were right about historical materialism?’
The poems in My Marxist Valentine chart a relationship of contradictions between an idealistic and romantic narrator, and her eponymous antagonist, a man of science, study and silence, at least where love is concerned.
Seeking answers in the relationships of revolutionaries like Eleanor Marx, Rosa Luxemburg and Emma Goldman, and attempting to extract dating advice from Marx’s Capital, poet Deborah Finding invites the reader to consider if, when, and how love can be truly radical. It calls on a wide cast of characters, where Jane Austen goes up against Karl Marx to provide some critiques of leftwing hypocrisy, and a communist Mr Darcy finds himself referencing both Judith Butler and Taylor Swift on his search for the ideal anti-capitalist comrade to join him in the good fight.
The big ideas are presented with humour and generosity, achieving depth without sacrificing accessibility - making My Marxist Valentine a challenging, darkly funny and unexpectedly touching poetry adventure in search of solidarity and the true meaning of love.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Deborah Finding is a queer feminist writer with a background in academia and activism. She is the author of two poetry pamphlets, ‘Vigils for Dead and Dying Girls’ (Nine Pens, 2023) and ‘Amortisation’ (Live Canon, 2024), which won the Live Canon pamphlet prize. Her other publications include fourteen poems, Propel, Poetry Wales’ ‘How I Write a Poem’ series, Anthropocene, berlin lit, The Alchemy Spoon, iamb, and The Friday Poem, and she has also been widely anthologised. Deborah won the Write By The Sea single poem prize and the Indigo Dreams Spring Prize, and has been placed, shortlisted or commended for the Troubadour, Goldsmith, Live Canon, Hexham, Hammond House, Oxford Poetry Library, and Ver Poets Prizes . She has also written for The Guardian, Huffington Post and DIVA magazine. Originally from the North-East, Deborah now lives in London where she is the inaugural poet in residence at the Soho Poly.