Poetry RSS

Prepare to be immersed in four days of Welsh literary splendour, as the Llansteffan Literary Festival takes place this June. With the festival opening on June 8, an exhibition of famous writers associated with this historic village will be a sure-fire draw to literary and historical enthusiasts alike. Glyn Jones, Lynette Roberts and Dylan Thomas are some of the poets and novelists featured in this exhibition. Hosted by local historian Diana Bevan, readings of their works are included before the launch of Peter J. Jones’s new poetry collection A Fox in the Yard; what better way to begin celebrating Llansteffan...

As a Parthian intern, I recently had the opportunity to attend the Llandeilo Book Festival on 29 April. Being the first literary event I've attended during my time with Parthian, it was not only a great chance to learn more about Parthian’s publications but also provided me with the possibility of meeting other publishers, both from other publishing houses as well as self-publishing authors.If you were at the book fair, you may have seen me on the Parthian/Library of Wales stall in the Civic Hall with other Parthian colleagues, promoting our collections and selling a wide range of literary delights from...

I’m feeling something deeper too. A fizz in my stomach, a slight edge of fear. It suddenly doesn’t feel that long since my Dad died. I wonder —in the off way people who do not believe in the afterlife might wonder—if my Dad will hear me reading about him. If he’d be happy to fill the room with me, if our voice will carry.

I hope so. Because at the very least, I want him to be proud. The same way he was proud to see my first poem published in a school anthology. I remember him saying that he didn’t understand it but that it looked nice on the page, neat and important.

And, for those of us still alive, I hope this collection will help to start a conversation too. One about loss or addiction or fathers. I hope the poems will offer a small, collective invitation to peer into the dark things in life and talk about them.

For those interested, please do come along to one of my national launches, readings or events and say ‘hello’. Let’s get this conversation going.

'Moonlight washes across the entire, exposed landscape of this poetry collection. The ‘white eye’ orbits from the first page to the last, with a quiet, ancient glint amid the frail unfolding of melancholy lives. Swansea-born writer Natalie Ann Holborow levels the lunar gaze onto a sudden first kiss, violence at a party, memories of past love, wretchedly drunken taxi rides, and a bundle of other tender, inflamed moments. Each is conjured in imagery that aches.'

'And Suddenly You Find Yourself is somehow both meticulous and raw, as if Holborow has mulled infinitely on how best to describe the act of stripping us to our simplest selves.

[...]

'Shoot for the moon? Holborow has landed, roamed its face, dipped into the craters, and gathered an armful of stars while up there.'

Sophie Baggott reviews Natalie Ann Holborow's debut poetry collection And Suddenly You Find Yourself for Wales Arts Review.