Darren Hobson has built his reputation on writing long, sprawling verse—a blunt, darkly comic voice that refuses to tidy itself up for easy reading. His work moves through territory most writers avoid, written to confront, to unsettle, and to expose the harsh reality beneath modern life.
But what happens when a poet who thrives in the darkness deliberately turns his gaze to the mundane?
The publication of Just Keeping It Simple is in itself a provocative act. Stripping back the complexity and deliberate entanglement of his usual style, Hobson presents forty-four short, traditional poems on seemingly non-complex topics: traffic jams, the taste of a turnip, or the mischief of "Cat Laws." Yet, beneath this simplicity lies a raw and brutal honesty.
Every short verse is a hidden crack in reality—a quick, unsettling glimpse into the shame, loneliness, and deep frustration buried within the ordinary. By focusing his signature bluntness on the basics of life, Hobson forces the reader to confront a troubling question: Is it possible to keep anything simple? Or is the easy life just another illusion waiting to fall away?
