Isle of Sin embodies three episodes of queer history in the Isle of Man with unapologetic poems that stir and inspire.

Split into three sections, Isle of Sin celebrates the life of Dursley McLinden (1965–1995)—a stage and screen actor, dancer, singer, magician—who died of an AIDS-related illness. Dursley was an inspiration for the character Ritchie Tozer in the Channel 4 drama, It’s a Sin.

The second section explores the dark depths of homophobia in the six years prior to the partial legalisation of sex between men in 1992 and dubious police practices of the time pays, as well as paying tribute to the activism of prominent gay rights campaigner Alan Shea.

Thirdly, Maddrell recognises the government and police apologies for the laws and tragic consequences of their zealous pursuit, emphasised by the Isle of Man’s very own Heartstopper, Joe Locke, at the second public Pride in 2022.

Isle of Sin was featured in the Poetry Book Society Selection for Summer 2023.

Simon Maddrell is a queer Manx poet living in Brighton and Hove. He is published in sixteen anthologies and over eighty publications including: AMBIT; Butcher’s Dog; The Moth; The Rialto; Poetry Wales; Stand; and Under the Radar. In 2020, Simon’s debut, Throatbone, was published by UnCollected Press and Queerfella jointly-won The Rialto Open Pamphlet Competition. Simon’s fourth pamphlet, The Whole Island, is published by Valley Press.