Leeds, 2026

JJ Carey makes queer art that wishes it was post-capitalist.

They have been complicit in the exploitation of their life force as an online fashion entrepreneur, dance instructor, actor, alto, pianist, bassist, french horn operator, insurance manager, haberdasher, toxicology software designer, visual artist, web developer, operational design consultant, student, tech support, quizmaster, drunk, amateur therapist and balloon race operator.

They respect their peers who write poetry for the melancholic sex, but they do it for the money.

They dropped out of an MBA for emotional reasons.

grainy picture of a white person of indeterminate gender with short brown hair wearing a black vest and heavy chain. They are looking at the camera with quizzical eyebrows. They have tattoos of roses on their shoulder and various other objects along their arm.

the jarring affair of poems and hierarchy

The Tempest prize

Winner, 2025
Finalist, 2024

Oxford poetry prize

Finalist, 2024

Banyon Review poetry prize

Runner up, 2024

collaborate

I want to imagine and write about the world we’re creating beyond capital with other queers, perverts, dreamers, workers, crips and agitators. Giz a shout.