The Gift by Victoria Field

in association with Truro Cathedral

A delightful book for adults and children of all ages with wonderful illustrations by Hannah Cumming. Sipho is alone in a strange country, far from home - he finds friends, comfort and adventure exploring the cathedral at night. When Christmas comes, will he receive the gift he hopes for?

2007

pp 47

£6

Knights of Love by Jane Tozer

Marie de France, a late 12th c writer, is the earliest named woman poet in the French language. Her lais are rollicking song stories in the tradition of the Canterbury Tales.

"'This superb new version ... is faithful to the world of Marie, representing her tone of wistful admiration and earthy humour... intense, obsessive, sad, fey and movingly sexy. "

Margaret Reynolds The Times 24 November 2007

read more ...

2007
pp 280
£12

Prompted to Write edited by Zeeba Ansari and Victoria Field

Foreword by Moniza Alvi

This book celebrates the completion of Words for Well-Being, a three year Arts Council South West Lottery-funded series of workshops and training organised by Lapidus Cornwall. It includes articles, reflections, poems, stories and accounts of workshops by over 30 contributors who participated in the programme.

Contributors: Mari Alschuler, Roselle Angwin, Zeeba Ansari, Gillie Bolton, Ted Bowman,
Angie Butler, Caroline Carver, Geri Chavis, Dorothy Coventon, Cathy Davey, Llyn Evans,
Victoria Field, Rose Flint, Fiona Friend, Rosie Hadden , Jenny Hamlett, David Hart, Rebecca Hazzard, Hilary Hendra, Elaine Holman, John Killick, Mary Lunnen, Eleanor Maxted, Bill Mycock,
Myra Schneider, Sandra Sheppard, Penelope Shuttle, Angela Stoner, Jane Tozer, George Wallace, Claire Williamson, Rogan Wolf

Click for more details about Lapidus.

2007
pp 66

£4.50

Many Waters - Poems from Ten Months at Cornwall's Cathedral by Victoria Field

Victoria Field's second collection is based on her ten months as writer-in-residence at Truro Cathedral. The poems reflect many aspects of the building, the seasons, spiritual life and wider concerns. Poet David Hart, who was poet in residence at Worcester Cathedral, writes,

'Victoria Field's poems do the job wonderfully well of singing both the liturgical life and the incidentals of being out and about. Her writing knows vulnerability more than certainty, the poems have their own newly made life, and there is something rooted and new here: of the personal, of Cornwall, of the fierce claims of attentiveness.'

For more reviews, click here. Review in Church Times, 27th July 2007

For more details about Truro Cathedral and the residency, click here.

2006
pp 66
£6

Olga’s Dreams by Victoria Field

Victoria Field's first collection received warm local and national reviews - 'delicious' and 'surprisingly sensual' and 'the kind of book you wish was scratch and sniff'. For more reviews, click here.

Her work had previously appeared in poetry magazines, been commissioned for BBC Radio 3 and won several awards. This wide ranging collection has three sections - the first, 'Another Life, A Distant Shore' includes poems about Russia, Pakistan and the paradoxes of time and place, the second 'Sex, Death and Eggs' has been described as 'a discovery, a lament, public and personal, amazing' and the third 'Here, Now' is anchored in liminal landscape of Cornwall.

On his website, Forward Prize-shortlisted poet Bill Greenwell calls Olga's Dreams 'a must'.

2004
pp 86
£10

Keeping House by Bill Mycock

Bill Mycock’s first collection has, at its heart, a series of poems exploring the lyricism and brutality of rural life before the war. His language is direct and concise and yet the layers of meaning and association make these poems to come back to time and again.

2004

pp 60
£8

Seiriol the Dragon by Michael Power

In a departure from Cornwall, fal has published this exciting tale for children of eight upwards featuring the adventures of Maddy and her friend Seirol the Dragon set against the mountains of Snowdonia. There is plenty to delight both younger and older readers, especially the vivid local detail and introduction to the Welsh language. Michael Power is a terrifically exciting teller of tales and the text is illustrated by his own enchanting line drawings.

2006

pp 94
£8

Once in a Blue Moon by Angela Stoner

Illustrated by Michele Wright.

Once in a Blue Moon is a beautifully illustrated story, set in Cornwall, but also in the realm of myth and dream, and works on many levels. With gorgeous illustrations by Michele Wright, this tale is an uplifting read for children and adults of all ages. Set in Cornwall, but also in the realm of myth and legend, Once in a Blue Moon is actually two books in one, with two front covers. Read the Mermaid's Tale, and then reverse the book to read the Fisherman's Tale. Both books end in the same place, in the centre of the book in a never-ending virtual circle of redemption.

2005

pp24
£7

ISBN 0-9544980-4-6

order

Dear Shadows by D M Thomas

D M Thomas, author of The White Hotel, is world-famous as a novelist. In Dear Shadows, he has returned to both his Cornish and poetic roots. It can be seen as a companion piece to his first stage play, Hell Fire Corner, premiered at the Hall for Cornwall in April 2004. Combining deeply felt emotions with prodigious technical skill, he conveys in his verse collection a world of political and personal changes and challenges. Many of the poems are illustrated by old photographs depicting family and community life in a Cornish mining village, and an elegiac quality pervades the collection.

2004
pp82
£12

The Devil and the Floral Dance by D M Thomas

St Michael, the patron saint of Helston in Cornwall, decides to pay the ancient town a visit during its famous Flora Day on May 8th. To his surprise and displeasure, he finds that his ancient adversary, the Devil, has had the same idea ...

First written in 1978, the story has been revised and updated, with gorgeous ful-colour illustrations by Falmouth-based artist, Linda Selby.

D.M.Thomas uses his skills as both a fiction writer and a poet to sparkling effect and what shines through is his profound knowledge and love of Cornwall and its people.

For an extract from the book, click here.

If you enjoyed this book, you may also be interested in a forthcoming DVD about Flora Day - visit www.prime-productions.co.uk

2006
pp 56
£8

	fal community
	Sleeping in the Rain - poems of homelessness This is a collection of outstanding poems written by the clients and some staff members of the St Petrocs Society, a charity which helps single, homeless people in Cornwall. It is endorsed by Andrew Motion, the Poet Laureate, and the full cover price goes to support the work of St Petrocs. Further details appear in a review by Cornish poet Bert Biscoe. 2004 pp44 £8
	ISBN 0-9544980-3-8	order

home | book list | our authors | reviews | news and events | contact us
d m thomas | bill mycock | victoria field