-Reviewed by Hayden Westfield-Bell- I tried not to think too much about Ground Work as it slipped from its protective envelope and landed comfortably in my hand. Not only did it look pretty, it felt pretty. It had real weight to it, felt sturdy, well made, and the interior was of similar quality: the binding…
-Reviewed by Charles Whalley- The word ‘anthology’ comes from Greek for the gathering of flowers, for putting together garlands. Maps & Legends, the first anthology from the Rugby-based Nine Arches Press, published to celebrate their fifth year, collects together a showcase of the work the press has put out since its launch in 2008. To…
-Reviewed by Angelina Ayers- David Briggs won an Eric Gregory Award in 2002, and his first collection, The Method Men (Salt, 2010), was shortlisted for the London Festival New Poetry Award. His second collection, Rain Rider, continues to pursue a wide range of interests and influences, from Renaissance art to latent cannibalism, undercutting highbrow inclinations…
-Reviewed by C.A. LaRue- In the afterglow of the 28th Annual Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival, I was able to hook up with two of the city’s small press poetry publishers: Trembling Pillow Press and Lavender Ink/Diálogos for copies of some of their latest titles. Though my selections are by writers from diverse backgrounds—only one of…
- reviewed by Koel Mukherjee – “Are you ready to celebrate failure? Are you ready to celebrate the worst aspects of love?” So began a special Valentine’s Day edition of the Anti-Slam – a night of competitive failure, featuring love poetry so awful, and performed so terribly, it mutates into a thing of hilarious and…
Writer Alex Nicholson and musician Pam Shaffer launch their new multimedia story-telling experience this month, a collaboration that has brought them together across the Atlantic. Metalalia, an immersive app for tablet and smartphone devices, will give its audience fairytales with a modern twist, accompanied by a unique soundtrack and visual art. They’ve already made a…
-Reviewed by Nick Murray- “That’s like the time – I know this guy – and this one time…” It’s a line we all knew so well to expect around the dinner table, or at the pub, or halfway through a film. Tom is that friend of mine (that friend that we all have in one…
-Reviewed by Lucy Ayrton- Do not talk to trees. At night they dance in ballet shoes, Tell secrets to one another, Put on a ring, wisdom for every year.” (‘Myth’). Goldfish by Jennifer Wong is a beautiful and perfectly sculpted collection of poems, drawing on the poet’s experiences in Hong Kong and England, and infused…
-Reviewed by C.A. LaRue- If Sonia Hendy-Isaac’s “soul is a dark forest,” as Anton Chekhov says, she explores the bounds of it with a sharp, gritty axe. The language in her first collection is frank and at times deeply sensual, but always with that dark edge, which seems to come from the confines of her…
-Reviewed by Eleanor Hemsley- Strong Room holds an enchanting collection of photographs alongside a short story that reignites a sense of archaic longing within us. The focus is, as with many other things, on the digital age, and the things modern day humans are missing out on. But this doesn’t come across as a stuck-in-the-past…
-Reviewed by Billy Mills- The landscape of Shadow Dispatches by Polly Atkin moves between waking and dream, the world of nature and the world of social interaction, in a set of extremely well-made poems and short sequences of thoughtful observation of both these worlds. The opening poem, ‘This Book’, is a clever semi-collage prefaratory piece…
-Reviewed by Angela Topping- The Last Walking Stick Factory is Hale’s first pamphlet of poems, yet there is a feeling of maturity in the work. These poems have been a while in the crafting; there is a slow patience at work which sits well with the main theme of trees and wood. There is also…
-Reviewed by Harry Giles- The Emma Press aims to publish “the kind of books you want to [...] dip into on the train or while you’re waiting for the bus, as well as have on your ereader or phone like you would an mp3 of a favourite song”. I’m excited by this mission to make…
Nominations for the 2014 Saboteur Awards are now open! Tickets can be bought here. Like the literature and performances they celebrate, the Saboteur Awards are ephemeral and ever-changing. But some things stay the same: we’re always looking to reward work that has, since our last awards, really made us and/or our readers sit up and take notice…
-Reviewed by Jennifer Edgecombe- This Is Not A Love Thing by Victoria Bean is a book that contains a six verse poem based on William Hogarth’s The Harlot’s Progress, the story of a young girl arriving in London and her life as a prostitute in 18th Century London. On receiving my package, I was presented…
