The Oasis
This debut collection announces Charles Lang as one of the best new poets in Scotland.’ — Alan Gillis
A Poetry Book Society Recommendation
Pulsing with the energy of urban life, these poems traverse the gritty, playful and tender moments that shape our lives. From the thrill of evading the police in ‘The Chase’ to the nostalgia of ‘New Shoes’ and the sheer abandon of ‘The Amusements’, we are pulled deep into a world where chaos and community intersect.
With a clarion and uncompromising voice, Charles Lang maps a labyrinth of memories, blending sharp wit with darker undercurrents as he explores identity, masculinity, class and ecology. Whether reflecting on family, friendships or fleeting moments of euphoria, Lang offers an authentic snapshot of working-class lives, where beauty is found in both the mundane and the extraordinary; in the human and the more-than-human.
A sonorous celebration of language and place, The Oasis is a vivid ode to the city’s streets and stories, a testament to resilience and belonging.
Praise for The Oasis
You’re stopped by the voice in these poems. Lang’s Glaswegian idiom is easefully natural, versatile, and a thrilling pleasure to read. But more than that, the deftness of his verse – in its formal dynamism, psychological subtlety, and tonal range – is hugely accomplished. Sharpness of detail, working class experience, and rootedness in the local, in these poems, deliver a generous, nuanced, conceptually ambitious and emotionally powerful effect. This debut collection announces Charles Lang as one of the best new poets in Scotland. — Alan Gillis
With a calm eye and a companionable level-headedness, Lang talks to his reader in his natural accent and tone, taking us wryly through the amusements of ‘The Amusements’, the schemes hatched on the schemes, and on into the complications of university and young adulthood. There is a lovely direct clarity and refreshing openness to his work. — Nick Laird
The Oasis is a breathtaking debut—boldly crafted with raw honesty and a captivating quest for beauty in every corner. It challenges in its ways of surveying, which are both kind and enthralling. This collection is a remarkable achievement in connecting our inner and outer lives. Formally brilliant and perfectly paced, it feels like an exercise in refining our ways of being. — Supriya Kaur Dhaliwal
These poems opened like windows to the streets of my own childhood. The music in the language is succinct and vibrant. The urban experience is brought to life in this collection. A rare perspective indeed. — William Letford
Charles Lang
Charles Lang is from Glasgow. His poems have appeared in numerous publications including Poetry Ireland Review, The Poetry Review and The Stinging Fly. He was selected for the Poetry Ireland Introductions series in 2022. In 2024, he was Ciaran Carson Writing and the City Fellow at the Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen’s University Belfast, and was shortlisted for the Edwin Morgan Poetry Award.