Girl, Swooning English 2026

swoon
/swu n/

verb

1. faint, especially from extreme emotion. 'The girl swooned and had to lie down'
2. be overcome with adoration, or other strong emotion. 'She was swooning over Him'

Etymology traces to the Old English word 'geswogen', meaning 'overcome'

On the eve of her wedding, a young woman wrestles with transitions: from adolescence to adulthood, from longing to holding, from womb to birth, from life to death, from darkness to enlightenment, from waking to dreaming, from love to grief.

There is only one choice: death or change.

In 2023 Imogen Wade won the National Poetry Prize with her poem 'The Time I Was Mugged in New York City', gaining her a wide audience. Her stunning debut , Girl, Swooning, is a startlingly fresh collection about womanhood, love, death and religious experience.

Distinctive, beguiling and compelling from the start, Girl, Swooning marks the emergence of a thrilling new voice.