James Sheard’s Dammtor is a wounding, darkly stirring collection of narratives describing a world of loss, lust and hope reborn. This snapshot of a bleak society centres around the old city gate of Hamburg, the eponymous Dammtor. Sheard’s first collection, Scattering Eva, was shortlisted for the Forward Poetry Prize. Now Dammtor – the Poetry Book Society Choice – further showcases Sheard’s remarkable and lyrical voice.