In ‘Legacy’, Steph Morris writes about what it’s like to be young and in love and unable to keep your hands off each other. “We cuddled all down the East London Line once. / At New Cross, as we climbed the steep side street, / holding hands, this woman shouted, ‘you two / are lovely.’” I channelled that New Cross woman so often while reading this glorious collection. In P Burton-Morgan’s ‘When I am Twelve a New Girl Joins Our School’ - “will I tease you / until we kiss?” In Zo Copeland’s ‘Trees Like Us’ - “I know you’re still talking / I don’t hear your words / But I know what you’re saying”. In Elizabeth Chadwick Pywell’s ‘In a Meadow a Girl Holds her Friend’s Hand’ - “‘lezzers’ she whispers / ‘lovely day for it’”. This anthology celebrates queer joy and many of the poems here are inspired by particular experiences. Tanya Erin Sheehan’s ‘Making Queer Friends on Purpose’ tells of vegetarians having an adventure in the woods. “If a man approaches / We’ll run at him, laughing / ‘This isn’t for you. / This isn’t about you. / This isn’t for you!’”. Cherry Potts describes hilariously a meeting between drenched versions of Greta Garbo and Queen Christina in an ex-mission hall loo. They dry their clothes piece by piece under the too-hot hand drier. “It takes an age, shivering in / damp underwear / with Great Garbo. / My trilby is never the same again.” Then there is Joshua Linney’s delicious ‘A Night in t’Pub’. “Ar lips meet up, nice en soft, / This ‘ere moment, better than owt, feels like ‘ome.” Other poems look more generally at what has allowed joy into their lives. I loved the confidence of Maria Jastrzębska’s two poems. “When I was your age / I had no idea / two women might / take turns / to hold their child”. Vron McIntrye noisily celebrates what others feel shouldn’t be discussed or even acknowledged. “Oh, how we love being dirty dykes / proclaim it on a van, write songs about / all the grubby Greenham fun we’re having.” While Khakan Qureshi, BEM, keeps things simple. “How I crave / your hot kiss, / your tongue / entwined with mine”. I’ve looked forward to this collection ever since was first suggested (with its brilliant title.) This is a time that aches for more joy. I’m so happy with the result. Joy isn’t something that we control. It rushes into our lives unexpectedly and can leave again just as quickly. But there is a sense in these poems of people having been touched, even if only for a moment, by something very special and very personal. It’s been a privilege to share that.