Tuesday, 31 May 2016
Thursday, 26 May 2016
Chez Nous Recommendations for Book of Bones
The thing that strikes me most about Book of Bones is the wealth of knowledge held within its pages. Here is a book that wants to take us on journeys. From the poet’s beginnings: “Her Yorkshire vowels are horizontal…hard as millstone grit” (‘Stratified’), we go on to visit many parts of Britain, travel to different countries, and voyage back in time.
With such a variety of settings, it is tempting to set about a whirlwind tour of tastes, to match the varied locations of the poems:
A full-bodied Tempranillo to summon the “red and black and ochre” Spanish setting of ‘Woman to Woman’.
Maybe a Sicilian Marsala to toast ‘Prince Edward’s Banished Lover’.
A summer-sweet fruit punch would nicely match the “scent of orange blossom, raspberries, dew-damp Earth” of ‘Examined’.
Perhaps a Gin and Tonic - with a heavy twist of lemon - to really taste the sharp final lines of ‘Provenance’: “Goering, finding his Vermeer/ was fake, was shocked, as if he’d just/ discovered there is evil in the world”.
This wish for a variety of tastes is applauded in ‘Orientation’: “Don’t worry/ Home is always split/ between at least three different maps”. Yet, when I spend time with these poems, there is one particular location that never seems far from the mind.
Wherever we go on this journey, ultimately, we seem to return to those Yorkshire roots: “…tooth enamel proves that you / were Yorkshire, faking Southern ways” (‘Book of Bones’). With this feeling, the place I truly imagine being over any other, is at the poet’s kitchen table, pouring over the words as though being shown the scrapbooks of these adventures, the albums of these pasts; a cup of strongly brewed tea in hand, the pot close by, ready to refill.
Claire Walker
Claire Walker
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| Photo by Geoff Robinson 2020zoom |
CLAIRE WALKER is a poet based in Worcestershire. Her poetry has appeared in numerous magazines and websites including The Interpreter’s House, Ink Sweat and Tears, Nutshells and Nuggets, And Other Poems and Snakeskin and has been in anthologies such as Crystal Voices and three drops from a cauldron. She often reads at spoken word events and was runner up in the 2014/2015 Worcestershire Poet Laureate Competition. The Girl Who Grew Into a Crocodile is her first poetry pamphlet and published by V. Press in October 2015.
Saturday, 30 April 2016
Launching Book of Bones
V. Press is very delighted to announce the publication of Book of Bones, a debut poetry collection from Kathy Gee.
“Every contact leaves a trace,” said Edmund Locard. Book of Bones examines who we are, our impact and what we leave behind. Rich with imagery, thoughtfulness and levity, Kathy Gee’s poetry is vibrant with people, places and lives connecting across time. From skeletons, scandal and hidden narratives to fathers, friendship and photographs, these are poems of identity, warmth and melancholy.
Book of Bones is very observant, very vivid.
“Kathy Gee's debut is a cabinet of
curiosities, exploring the personal and monumental past. Small artefacts and
once-silenced voices are brought to life. Her observing eye takes in figures
from King Henry to Goering and all points in between, seeking historical
answers to very modern concerns." Jo
Bell
“In this entertaining first
collection Kathy Gee curates a rich display of historical artefacts, landscapes
and personalities that bring the past up close – and personal. The poems,
deftly fashioned and imbued with a feisty tenderness, leave traces of wonder,
joy, compassion and a wry humour all of which linger pleasurably in the mind.” Stephen Boyce
RRP £9.99
The event, which includes readings from other local poets, is free and open to the public but by ticket only. Anyone interested interested in attending should email V. Press, on vpresspoetry@hotmail.com, ASAP as only a few tickets now remain.
The open air museum's grounds will be open from 6pm (although the house interiors won't) and those attending the launch will be welcome to look around the wonderful historic collection with a glass in hand.
The launch reading begin in the Long Room of the String of Horses at 7pm.
Provenance
Somewhere in the swirl of paint
lies moisture captured from his breath,
some slight impression of his gaze,
the weight of hours in a draughty loft.
Collectors breathe the painter’s dust,
observe as women stitch their silks
and sunlight falls on a chequered floor.
They want to own the artist’s essence,
touching atoms, brushing fingers,
seeking to be part of him,
his fame illuminating theirs.
Goering, finding his Vermeer
was fake, was shocked, as if he’d just
discovered there is evil in the world.
The unforgotten twin
In the bay window, a wheelchair
turns its back on beds to give
a birthday moment of normality.
How old are you, Olive? says Nurse.
I’m sixty eight the wheelchair says.
Oh bless her, she means eighty six.
And how many children, Olive?
Three adults at her knee await
the answer... give it for her:
three they smile in unison.
Their mother firmly contradicts
No, four... I had four.
Launch Celebrations
Kathy will be launching Book of Bones at Avoncroft Museum of Buildings, near Bromsgrove on Friday, May 6th 2016.The event, which includes readings from other local poets, is free and open to the public but by ticket only. Anyone interested interested in attending should email V. Press, on vpresspoetry@hotmail.com, ASAP as only a few tickets now remain.
The open air museum's grounds will be open from 6pm (although the house interiors won't) and those attending the launch will be welcome to look around the wonderful historic collection with a glass in hand.
The launch reading begin in the Long Room of the String of Horses at 7pm.
Somewhere in the swirl of paint
lies moisture captured from his breath,
some slight impression of his gaze,
the weight of hours in a draughty loft.
Collectors breathe the painter’s dust,
observe as women stitch their silks
and sunlight falls on a chequered floor.
They want to own the artist’s essence,
touching atoms, brushing fingers,
seeking to be part of him,
his fame illuminating theirs.
Goering, finding his Vermeer
was fake, was shocked, as if he’d just
discovered there is evil in the world.
Listen to Kathy read Provenance here:
In the bay window, a wheelchair
turns its back on beds to give
a birthday moment of normality.
How old are you, Olive? says Nurse.
I’m sixty eight the wheelchair says.
Oh bless her, she means eighty six.
And how many children, Olive?
Three adults at her knee await
the answer... give it for her:
three they smile in unison.
Their mother firmly contradicts
No, four... I had four.
Listen to Kathy read The unforgotten twin here:
Monday, 4 April 2016
Launching Hometown
Hometown brims with emotion-charged stories, distinctive characters and situations of hidden and not-so-hidden tensions in everyday lives in the American Midwest. From characters’ differing sense of responsibility to themselves, their friends and their families, to the wide-ranging aftermath of a white man’s accidental killing of a black man in central Illinois, these flash fictions illuminate the daily struggle of being human. Hometown proves very immediate and very engaging from start to finish.
"Etter's stories climb into your head and reboot it from the inside, from the squealingly joyous to the darkly sad, some with gear changes that fling you backwards in your seat, some told in voices so strong you could lean against them, and then some fragile, as if the page held nothing but the faint impression of a delicate and long-dead insect. I can't wait for more." David Gaffney
Launches
Carrie will be launching Hometown in a free reading in Bath on 19 April. The event, 'Poetry & Fiction from Six Awesome Women', takes place at St James Wine Vaults,10 St James's Street, Bath, BA1 2TW from 18:30-20:00. More details about this event can be found here.Submissions
To mark the launch of Carrie Etter's Hometown, V. Press is also very pleased to announce the dates for this year's submissions window: June/July 2016.
This year we will be open for the first time to submissions for flash fiction pamphlets, as well as poetry pamphlets and collections.
Submission guidelines can be found here. Please do take the time to read and follow them if you would like to be published with V. Press.
Eddie’s First Seven Visits to Nick in Prison as Questionnaire
Question 1: What do you miss most?
Week 1: Pot. Sex. But then I wasn’t getting much sex anyway with me and Lisa separated, was I?
Week 3: Beer. I really need a beer. I really need ten beers.
Week 5: You’re trying to get me to say Micheleo’s pizza, aren’t you? How many times do you think we met there for lunch? It has to be in the hundreds. We get pizza here — not very good pizza, of course, but it passes. My mom’s chuck roast, now that I could kill for. I’m joking, come on!
Week 7: Crystal. The way she smells after a bath. How cute she looks when she rubs her nose in her sleep.
Week 9: Have you found a way to sneak beer in here? ‘Cause if you have, I could be real popular. At least for a day.
Week 11: The sky. The prairie. Big open space. Could you blow up a photograph of the view from my folks’ house out the back, that overgrown field? I swear some of the cars we used to play with are still in there somewhere. You could do it, right? I could put it on my wall.
Week 13: What do you want me to say? I miss everything, fucking everything. Waking up with Lisa. Hearing Crystal in the next room. Mom, Dad — even you.
Question 2: How are things with Lisa?
Week 1: Okay, I guess. She showed up for everything, but we haven’t really talked. We’re good. I hope we’re good.
Week 3: She didn’t come this week. She said she had to work last minute, somebody got sick. I believe her, but I still think I ain’t lookin’ so hot to her these days, you know what I mean? Three years with good behavior. When was I ever good for three months, let alone three years? But then it’s easier to be good in here, a little bit.
Week 5: I have no idea.
Week 7: I gotta get her back. I mean, she’s not gone, but she’s not with me, either. I want her to be with me like I’m with her.
Week 9: We talked, but just about what other people are doing — my folks, Crystal, even Mary. I ask about herself and she clamps up. I’m afraid to say anything about us. I say anything about us, that’s her opening — she’s gone.
Week 11: This time when she came I combed my hair. Don’t laugh. You know it’s not me. Or wasn’t me. I was just trying to clean up, look good for her, and what can I do in bright orange clothes? I can shave, and I can comb my hair. I can brush my teeth. I did all that. I don’t know if she noticed.
Week 13: Will you tell me what to do? Is there anything I can do?
Question 3: What are you going to do when you get out?
Week 1: Get drunk, I guess. Get high. Sleep it off and start over again.
Week 3: Drive! Music up, window down. You’re in the passenger seat.
Week 5: It depends on what’s up with Lisa.
Week 7: What do you want me to say? Start over? What do I know how to do besides drive a cab? You’re the smart one.
Week 9: Join the library? Hell if I know.
Week 11: Stop asking me, man. It’s too far off. I’ve got to keep my head here.
Monday, 14 March 2016
Chez Nous Recommendations for The Girl Who Grew Into a Crocodile
I could recommend enjoying this with a gin and tonic, as in ‘Stephanie’, allowing the liquid to slip down the throat smooth as silk, smooth as the words – a clean, clear drink that “cracked the cold ice”.
Alternatively, a refreshing jasmine tea would perfectly accompany the zen-like care of poems such as ‘Miniature Garden’.
Another option for later in the day is a glass of white wine, enjoyed on the lawn, with unmown grass, the “simple yellow greetings” of wild flowers and surprising long light of an evening in June where “we’ve hours before it gets dark” (‘Isn’t it light tonight?’).
But The Girl Who Grew Into a Crocodile is a collection, like its title poem, that also has teeth. For these poems, and the poems of beach air, the sharp salt tang of a tequila – a strong drink for strong poems, with a hint of fire and sunshine in every mouthful.
The one important characteristic is a flavour that lingers and tempts, like the pamphlet, long after the cup or glass is emptied.
Anon Poet
For a sample poem, please click here.
To order a copy of Claire Walker's The Girl Who Grew Into a Crocodile, please use the paypal link below.
Wednesday, 9 March 2016
Chez Nous recommendations for Hometown
Set in the American Midwest, it’s a world of journeys. Not always on the road. Cars get mentioned a lot…as they weave their hidden secrets amongst the ‘neatly trimmed lawn’ and ‘clapboard houses’ of suburbia in the towns of 'Downs or Towanda Maybe'. A roadside diner is where you could imagine reading this book - the kind where the waitress lets you linger over the menu.
This is no time for American Pie, though. You’ll want your coffee strong, espresso style, with dark silky chocolate. I’m thinking death-by-fudge-cake or pancakes with molasses and a jug of cream on the side.
You’ll need deep, lingering flavours to savour as you view Etter’s take on these fractured hometowns where trouble comes to the door and knocks. Sometimes the door gets opened – usually to a surprise: a woman who hides her drinking eyes behind dark glasses in 'Prospects' or a strange paper ball containing ‘the iridescence of tears’ in 'Mauve'.
To complement this complex cast of characters, may I recommend a bourbon - New Richmond Rye - with its fine blend of grains that may just be the match for savouring Etter’s linked fictions 'Manslaughter'…or when considering the effects of generation upon generation, perhaps a Border Straight Bourbon, made from traditional aging with no shortcuts, is the one to whet your juices.
Wait. We’re not in the bars of Minnesota or Wisconsin now. It’s going to have to be a Jack Daniels or nothing.
Perhaps it’s time to pour another coffee.
Jane Campion Hoye
www.inspire2speak.com
Jane Campion Hoye is a poetic writer, storyteller and performer, who has gathered knowledge of a diversity of wines from around the world…whether filming in a German vineyard or sampling the liquid silk of a smooth cabernet on Stellenbosch’s wine route in Cape Town. And not only wine. Her poem 'Waterfall Glory', recently selected for international publication Inspired By My Museum, was first penned on a visit to the Guinness Museum in Dublin.
Monday, 22 February 2016
We're delighted that Claire Walker's The Girl Who Grew Into a Crocodile was chosen for the Other New Pamphlets section in the Poetry Book Society's Spring Bulletin.
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