As the title suggests the book contains Kay’s previous poem collections in addition to the new poems from her. The collections include The Adoption Papers, Severe Gale 8, Other Lovers, Off Colour, Life Mask, Red, Cherry Red, and Three Has Gone. Each collection has its own overarching themes that are explored in the poems. However, all the collections including the new poems draw from Kay’s own life and that of others to convey a communal understanding. They address social constructs such as sexuality, identity, race, cultural differences, and gender while incorporating humor, grief, and loss.
In the first collection, “The Adoption Papers”—which put Kay on the map—she addresses the issue of cultural identity through her own experiences. The poetic monologues entail three voices, the birth mother, the adoptive mother, and the child. These poems set the tone of the book in how they use individual experiences to speak on the universality of the human experience. “Severe Gale 8” consists of poems told from the perspective of gay men during the Thatcher era. It blends the private sphere of the group and the political climate while delving into the AIDS-related deaths of the time. The collection “Other Lovers” focuses on variations of relationships and their quality of love. They range from familial relationships to romantic ones that are fixed either in the present or in the past.
The “Off Colour” collection delves into motifs of health and illness both in the literal and figurative sense. In the poem, the speaker explores physical health and the sickness in our society that eats upon morality and human decency. For instance, in Teeth, Kay incorporates the issue of immigration, racism, and prejudice to highlight current affairs. “Life Mask” consists of poetry with more private issues such as loss, love, and the idea of self or identity. The title alludes to the masks that people wear in society to appear how they want others to view them. It also entails Kay’s first and only encounter with his birth father. Moreover, the titular poem Darling is part of the new works that are from the poet’s experiences with loss and love. It is dedicated to Kay’s friend, Julia Darling, who passed on.
