Poor Artists: The White Pube in conversation with Gayle Meikle

‘Female duo the White Pube have the energy and opinions to liven up an art world full of stale, male voices’ Guardian

Poor Artists is the debut work of hybrid fiction and criticism by two sharp and on point writers about how difficult it is to become an artist but why so many people try anyway. It asks the big questions – what is art? Why is it so hard to become ‘an artist?’ What would happen if we fully acknowledged that making art lies at the centre of what it means to be human? Based on 22 interviews with anonymous artists and art world people, and featuring talking babies, zombies, a professor made out of discarded art, real life Turner Prize winners, and the ghost of Gustave Courbet. Poor Artists is one of the most surreal, political, relevant, and original books of the year and is shortlisted for Gordon Burn Prize 2025.

The White Pube is the collaborative identity of UK-based critics Gabrielle de la Puente and Zarina Muhammad, who have built an international cult following with their innovative writing style, their honesty and irreverence, and their willingness to challenge the pale, male, stale art establishment with their work.

Gayle Meikle is a Lecturer in Contemporary Art Curation. at Newcastle University.