Thursday 25 May 2017

Candlestick Press launches ~ Ten Poems about Grandparents



Published May 2017, priced £4.95
ISBN 978 1 907598 47 0


Selected and Introduced by Liz Soar with Pupils of Headington School, Oxford


“Poems that capture the joy of being – or having – a grandparent”


This latest title from Candlestick Press is something of a departure: all the selections have been chosen by pupils at Headington School in Oxford and the anthology includes two beautiful poems written by the students themselves and one by their English teacher, Liz Soar.

The pupils were diligent editors and their choices reflect the multicultural world in which they are growing up. There’s a poem in three languages about a joyful reunion with a grandparent arriving from overseas and another in which a Muslim grandmother raises eyebrows in a posh department store by washing her feet in the sink in the ladies’ room.

But the abiding spirit of the selection is the sense of safety and comfort we feel in the company of a beloved grandparent. Joan Johnston’s tiny poem ‘Safe’ captures the feelings of a child tucked up in bed. Or as Andrew Waterhouse says so touchingly, it’s simply about:

“feeling his heat, knowing
the slow pulse of his good heart.”

from ‘Climbing my Grandfather’ by Andrew Waterhouse

Poems by Tiffany Atkinson, John Burnside, Katie Cleverley, Vicki Feaver, Joan Johnston, Katerina de Jong/Anastasia Matveeva/Minnah Rashid, Mohja Kahf, Derek Mahon, Liz Soar and Andrew Waterhouse.

Illustration by Kathy Morgan

To continue the Candlestick tradition of supporting a range of charities through pamphlet sales, a donation will be made to Friends of the Elderly.  www.fote.org.uk      



Candlestick Press is a small, independent press publishing sumptuously produced poetry pamphlets that serve as a wonderful alternative to a greetings card, with matching envelopes and bookmarks left blank for your message. Their subjects include Cricket, London, Lesbian and Gay, Revenge, Babies and Fathers. Candlestick Press pamphlets are stocked by chain and independent bookshops, galleries and garden centres nationwide and available to order online.

Follow on Twitter @poetrycandle




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2 comments:

  1. This sounds wonderful! I'm definitely going to be looking at buying from this company - especially after I won one of their titles in your recent giveaway. They really are beautifully done.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Hayley. I'm so pleased too be able to showcase these wonderful poetry pamphlets - Jaffa and I think they're amazing :)

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