acknowledgements I would like to thank the editors of the following magazines and journals, where some of these poems were first published. ‘Beatification’ and ‘Star Vehicle’ in PN Review; ‘Megan Married Herself’ in Poetry Magazine; ‘The Amnesty’, ‘The Fear’, ‘First Signs’, ‘In These Days of Prohibition’, ‘The Rags’, ‘The Moment’, ‘A Toddler Creates Thunder by Dancing on a Manhole’ and ‘Sentinel of Anything’ in Poetry Review; ‘Bipolar Purgatory’ and ‘Adultery for Atheists’ in The Rialto; ‘Landscaping’ in Magma. ‘Star Vehicle’ and ‘Patient Intake Questionnaire’ were commissioned by Rachel Long and Antosh Wojcik for their project Lit and Lynch. A huge thanks to the Society of Authors and the Arthur Welton Foundation for supporting the writing of this collection. 63