Submissions Open for August

V. Press submissions open for August! 

What are we looking for? Well, maybe poetry that opens, or closes, doors inside, that shines a light where most people walk past or that illuminates the familiar in a different way. Or however else a poet chooses to interpret 'very, very' in a meaningful/crafted/awe-inspiring way.

Full guidelines can be found here or under the submissions tab in the menu above. Please do follow these, or poems are likely to be returned unread.

Celebrations!

It's just over a year since V. Press was set up and almost a year from the Vs' frisson-filled, packed hall performance with the Decadent Divas at Ledbury Poetry Festival.
With all this behind us and so much in front, we're gearing up and excited about tomorrow's 'Wild & Foxy' festival event.
The Droitwich Summer Festival live lit evening features V. Press poets Jenny Hope, Ruth Stacey, Sarah James and Catherine Crosswell, plus guest poet Antony Owen, with his new Pighog collection and the wild side of war and urban life.
The event at Park's Cafe, Droitwich, from 7pm-9.30pm also includes an open mic section, if anyone is in or near Worcestershire over the weekend.

'Wild & Foxy'

Hot-off-the-press news this morning about V. Press poets headling at a festival event this summer.

Following on from the success of last year's the Vs performance at Ledbury Poetry Festival, V. Press poets will be reading in a new 'Wild and Foxy' festival showcase.

This free live lit evening at Park’s Café on Saturday, June 28 is part of this year’s Droitwich Summer Festival line-up.

The Droitwich Art Network (DAN) spoken word event will be headlined by V. Press poets Catherine Crosswell, Jenny Hope, Ruth Stacey and Sarah James, with Guest Poet Antony Owen.

The four Worcestershire V. Press poets will be dishing up a range of poems for a range of tastes, revealing the theme’s literal and metaphorical flavours.

From nature and wildlife to poetry that’s a little more saucy, the evening will feature a small sample from the group’s V. Press anthology, as well as new performance work and poems from their individual collections.

Meanwhile, this year is the centenary of the start of World War I and Coventry's Antony Owen will be bringing the wild side of war and urban life to the live lit event.. 

All three of his published poetry collections focus heavily on people overlooked in society and conflict. He will be reading from his latest collection, The year I loved England, a collaboration of poetry with Birmingham Irish poet Joseph Horgan that will be published in July by Pighog Press

The night, which runs from 7pm-9.30pm, will also feature an open mic section, where other writers, or acoustic musicians/singers, can share their interpretations of ‘wild and foxy’ (though please note, not too much sauce!).

These slots (of six minutes maximum) should be booked in advance by emailing DAN secretary and event organiser Sarah Leavesley on lifeislikeacherrytreeATyahooDOTcom.

A limited number of 6-minute (maximum) open mic spots will also be available on the night. Please arrive early to sign up for these.

Food will be available. Please contact Park’s Café on 01905 776 633 to reserve a table at the resturant in Victoria Square, Droitwich.

There will also be the chance to buy books by the four poets and get these signed.

The Vaginellas at Ledbury Poetry Festival

Last Thursday saw Catherine Crosswell, Jenny Hope, Sarah James and Ruth Stacey perform their The Vaginellas poems to a packed hall at Ledbury Poetry Festival. The show, for which the Vs teamed up with the fabulous Decadent Divas, combines performance poetry and page poetry, setting humour, innuendo and belly-laughs alongside more serious feminist pieces. The buzz of anticipation among the audience pre-show was amazing! It was a truly fantastic night – the atmosphere incredible and the audience wonderful. V. Press's special chapbook of V poems from the Ledbury performance can be purchased here (or through Amazon).

And they've arrived!

Yes, V. Press's first title The Vaginellas arrived from the printers today!

Here they are in their full glory, all ready for Ledbury Poetry Festival next Thursday:

And while we're waiting for The Vaginellas to come back from the printers...you can also catch these four poets live at this year's Ledbury Poetry Festival: The Vaginellas and The Decadent Divas on Thursday, July 11, 8.30pm – 10.30pm | Burgage Hall | £6 http://www.poetry-festival.co.uk/bookings.html.

First Title!

V.Press is proud to announce its first title to be published in June/July 2013: The Vaginellas.

Stark, ballsy and all-embracing, the poems in The Vaginellas are in turns very funny, very feminist and very empowering.

The strong distinct voices of these poets – Catherine Crosswell, Jenny Hope, Sarah James and Ruth Stacey – explores the highs and lows of both the male and female body. No intimate parts escape untouched in this delightful concoction of fun, feminism, sauce and seriousness.

Their tight and engaging writing sets mythology, metaphor and belly laughs alongside thought-provoking explorations of modern society, historical female creativity and contemporary cultural concerns.

That this should be V. Press’s first title also seems particularly apt, given Tony Harrison’s eponymous poem V.

None of the language in The Vaginellas is gratuitous, every word serves its purpose – to captivate readers, be it in a lyrical, erotic, fun way, or a reclaiming of historical terms that have been manhandled for years.

***