Written over a period of eight years, the poems in Shale Bings amble across adolescent landscapes, hazy spectres of West Lothian and the (queer) loves within, playful in their encounters with creatures and flora otherwise disregarded. Through these poems Ian Macartney attempts desire paths towards 'posthuman joy' - poems that ask to come play in the soil, to jump in the canal, to pretend to be a lovely dog, then follow through on what such shared futures might look/smell/taste/sound/vibe like.