Friday 25 September 2020

Autumn news, reviews & National Poetry Day offer

V. Press is delighted to start into Keats' "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness" with a lovely article in the Sept/Oct/Nov issue of Mslexia.

Editor and managing director Sarah Leavesley was asked to take part in an interview for the magazine's 'Indie in the news' section, focussing in particular on Natalie Linh Bolderston's pamphlet The Protection of Ghosts

Natalie received an Eric Gregory Award earlier this year with an application including five poems  featured in her V. Press pamphlet.The article also includes background on the press and our submission process. 

This issue of Mslexia (87) can be found here and Natalie's pamphlet, which was guest-edited by Carrie Etter, here.

This issue of Mslexia also features an article about the V. Press title  The Neverlands by Damhnait Monaghan, which won the Saboteur Awards 2020 Best Novella  Award. Yvonne Battle Felton's article 'Breaking the mould' combines review and writing exercise. Quotes from it can be found in the review section below.

Competition Joy

Congratulations to V. Press poet Ruth Stacey, whose collection I, Ursula has been longlisted in the Poetry Book Awards 2020!

More about the awards here. A sample poem, more about the collection and ordering of I, Ursula can be found here.




REVIEWS



“This stunning award-winning novella is told through a series of inter-connected flash fictions. Each is a self-contained burst of character, setting and tension. Alone, each piece is poignant and sharp; together they produce a compelling narrative.[..]"

Yvonne Battle Felton, 'Breaking the mould', Mslexia

A sample flash, more information about The Neverlands and ordering for the eBook can be found here.



Diane Simmons expertly uses flash fiction pieces to capture the complexities one family experiences over four generations in her novella, An Inheritance (V. Press). Each fictional piece chronologically charts significant moments for the characters as they navigate their lives—both independently and as a family. The collection as a whole is a dramatic family saga that interweaves issues of class, familial obligations and legacy. […]

“Entertaining and powerful, Diane Simmons’ publication, An Inheritance, is a comprehensive collection of flash fiction stories that transcend place and time. […]”

Mikiko Fukuda, Sabotage Reviews, full review here

A sample flash, more information and ordering for An Inheritance can be found here.


"[...] The juxtaposition of hate and anger with the safety of pure, fluid love, is what sustains this work: I felt the contrast drew me in, and amplified the anguish communicated through the poems.

[...] There is much that is strong and powerful in Ynygordna, which explores many contrasts, not just between love and hate, but also the battle between persecution and acceptance — ignorance and understanding."

Vic Pickup, OPOI review on Sphinx Reviews, full review here

A sample poem, more information and ordering for Ynygordna can be found here.


"The poems in this noticeably direct and unpretentious pamphlet are framed by two pyramid-structured ‘hierarchies of need’ modelled after Abraham Maslow’s 1943 theory of human motivation. One pyramid shows nature’s basic, psychological and growth needs; the other does the same for ‘21st century humans’. The pamphlet sheds light on — and examines the symbiotic relationship between — the two sets of needs. [...]

"This pamphlet is a timely poetic reminder that all life needs to be tended respectfully, by ourselves as well as by others."

Tim Murphy, OPOI on Sphinx Reviews, full review here

A sample poem, more information and ordering for Hierarchy of Needs: A Retelling can be found here.

"I enjoyed seeing Wareham Morris play with words, presentation and spacing in this collection. What’s also great is when there’s a clear backbone to a collection, which was obvious from the title, ‘Making Tracks’, which was a reoccurring theme throughout. "
Nikki Dudley, full review here

"Making Tracks by Katy Wareham Morris is a creative and conceptual triumph, exploring the disparate effects of a changing place on a multifaceted set of identities, communities, and cultures. Like her poem I try to explain it again,we are in the rhizomes of place-identity and its upheaval. Language and formal experimentation strike a beautifully shaped punch throughout these pages; playfully rendering the slippery nature of memory, class, gender with poetic tricks that are genuinely avant-garde, but never at the expense of earthy guts; which these poems are drenched in. Making Tracks gets to the hypocentre of West Midlands Industrial life."
R. M. Francis

A sample poem, more information and ordering for Making Tracks can be found here.


"The poems which I find the most powerful are those where the poet explores the experience of the female muse and the male artist in both art and literature. [...] These poems – like so many others in the collection – explore relationships between artist and muse, men and women, the tensions between life and art, and the creation and appreciation of various forms of art, in terms of power and powerlessness."

Jane SimmonsEverybody's Reviewing, full review here.

A sample poem, more information and ordering for I, Ursula can be found here.



NATIONAL POETRY DAY 

This year's National Poetry Day is on Thursday, 1 October with a theme of VISION. V. Press is celebrating the day with a special poetry pamphlet bundle (for U.K. delivery only) that runs from now until the end of Sunday, 4 October 2020.

The NPD2020 bundle is 2 of This Lexia & Other Languages, Winter with Eva, Hierarchy of Needs, About Leaving, Patience , Making Tracks or Ynygornda for £12 including U.K. delivery only.

Please use the Paypal button below to order, remembering to include which 2 titles you'd prefer. (If it's left blank, then V. Press will select 2 for you.)

NB This offer is intended for U.K. only, though a P&P option for the rest of the world is included. Please make sure not to select the wrong option. Thank you.


NPD2020 delivery options
2 pamphlets you'd prefer?

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