Launching Robins, Feathers, Pearls

V. Press is very very delighted to announce the publication of Robins, Feathers, Pearls by Ella-Louise Fisher, whose university portfolio of poems won last year's V. Press Prize for Poetry.

“Robins, Feathers, Pearls takes us on a journey of what it means to lose but also what it means to have. These poems are proof that the greatest moments of sadness and despair can be written with beauty and light. You will get lost in these words, and you will be grateful for it.”

Casey Bailey

“This remarkable debut publication from Ella-Louise Fisher is a powerful reminder of how bereavement can be more than an individual experience. Elegiac work is by nature difficult to write. It is often particularly difficult to communicate the balance between public and private grief which holds the elegy in place, but Fisher’s poems skilfully present personal moments from a rich life that frames the context of loss in beautiful, heartbreaking, and strikingly recognisable ways. More than this, Robins, Feathers, Pearls is a true commitment to honouring life as well as reflecting on death, and honesty, integrity, and deep love for family lives in every line.”
Jack McGowan

Robins, Feathers, Pearls is very honest, and very moving. 

Winner of the V. Press Prize for Poetry 2023

ISBN: 978-1-7394122-1-0

36 pages

R.R.P. £6.99

A sample poem can be enjoyed below.

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Robins, Feathers, Pearls (with p&p options)

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The Aisle of Urns in Charity Shops

I might donate your ashes to a charity shop. 

When I think of you, 

I picture you stroking the sleeves of jumpers 

in the aisles of Oxfam, 

holding teddies, and a book,

and dolls and wool, 

ready to give to me. 

I picture you grasping bin bags 

of knitted blankets and cardigans 

ready to donate, 

and, after promising not to take too long,

you’d spend hours browsing the 

fine china and teacup sets. 

You came home one day with a necklace, 

a small statue of a dog’s head for your fireplace, 

and a jewellery box, slightly chipped. 

Carrying a box of Beano comics on your hip. 

It might be worth something one day,

you said, 

as I raised my eyebrows. 

Now I walk in and find your pearls 

and your picture frames 

and your tea pot 

in the aisles of Oxfam

and, even though I donated them myself, 

I take them all in my arms and buy them again. 

A change of heart, 

I’ll wear you around my neck instead.

2024-25 V. Press Prize for Poetry

V. Press is very very excited to announce that the winner of this year's V. Press Prize for Poetry is Cherine El-Bash! 

This year's V. Press Prize for Poetry shortlist of four manuscripts chosen by the University of Worcester was particularly strong and wide-ranging, each one containing cohesively linked poems.

V. Press editor Sarah Leavesley enjoyed the interesting perspectives and forms used to create innovative, thought-provoking and moving poetry. In addition to striking lines, images and individual poems, she was also impressed by the care and crafting in getting each shortlisted set of poems to work together as a whole.

After numerous re-readings, she eventually picked ‘The furthest island’ by Cherine El-Bash as the winner of the V. Prize for Poetry 2024-25. This manuscript was both very moving and very striking, bringing together multiple different strands and influences to create poems which cast life and the surrounding world in a new light. In ‘The furthest island’, experience is simultaneously familiar and strange, with unusual imagery and language used to powerful narrative and emotional effect.

Sarah is looking forward to working with Cherine El-Bash on their pamphlet/chapbook for publication by V. Press in 2025. (See below for more information about the chapbook by last year's winner, Ella-Louise Fisher.)

NOW AVAILABE TO PRE-ORDER

“Robins, Feathers, Pearls takes us on a journey of what it means to lose but also what it means to have. These poems are proof that the greatest moments of sadness and despair can be written with beauty and light. You will get lost in these words, and you will be grateful for it.” Casey Bailey

“This remarkable debut publication from Ella-Louise Fisher is a powerful reminder of how bereavement can be more than an individual experience. Elegiac work is by nature difficult to write. It is often particularly difficult to communicate the balance between public and private grief which holds the elegy in place, but Fisher’s poems skilfully present personal moments from a rich life that frames the context of loss in beautiful, heartbreaking, and strikingly recognisable ways. More than this, Robins, Feathers, Pearls is a true commitment to honouring life as well as reflecting on death, and honesty, integrity, and deep love for family lives in every line.” Jack McGowan

Robins, Feathers, Pearls is very honest, and very moving. 

Winner of the V. Press Prize for Poetry 2023

ISBN: 978-1-7394122-1-0

36 pages

R.R.P. £6.99

A sample poem, more information and ordering for Robins, Feathers, Pearls can be enjoyed here.

ALSO COMING SOON

“Tom Vowler takes us into the thick of the moment with slow confident detail that makes us poise within time, where actions have distinct consequences and there is a path taken through havoc. He captures what happens at the intersection of human fragility and the might of nature, using language that caresses and haunts.”
Catherine McNamara

“Beautifully written bite-sized stories, exploring ghosts and hauntings and loss. Stimulating and satisfying – a splendid collection.”
Alison Moore

The Trajectory of Ghosts is very ethereal and very necessary. 

ISBN: 978-1-7394122-3-4
36 pages
R.R.P. £6.99

A sample flash fiction, more information and ordering for The Trajectory of Ghosts can be enjoyed here.