LEAVING EDEN
(forthcoming from Salt Publishing, 2009)FRANKIE, ALFREDO, (2009)
A well-stocked anthology of fresh produce from six prize-winning poets. Behind the bottles and the butter you'll find Mussolini cheating on the tennis court and meet the shark from Jaws in a Yorkshire millpond; glimpse the love of woman for orang-utan and make it across the Spanish-Italian border; spy on the hobbies of cowboys and drink deep of the Molotov cocktail of love. Whilst anthologies often play up their diversity, the pleasure of 'the like of it' lies in the fact that these writers seem to be in conversation with each other, all working towards a mutual idea about what literature should be. They share sensuousness, a subtlety of line, an intelligent sense of humour and a seriousness about their art, born out of the knowledge that: 'Nothing's real until you say it, and even then -- / knowing how to do things with words can be terrible.' Inventive, well-read and wise, these Songs of Experience are a real treat for those who like their poetry grown-up. - Clare Pollard;)
In this slim debut, Liane Strauss offers poems of great ingenuity, humour and charm. This feminine metaphysical verse frequently explores aspects of desire, and holds at its heart a number of seeming contradictions: it is often ironic yet romantic, passionate yet deftly controlled, intellectual yet accessible, and displays wit counterbalanced with modesty. These qualities, coupled with her considerable formal skill and wonderful, imaginative sleight of hand, should win her a wide, and wide-eyed, audience.
Strauss writes as if she's confidently mapping the secret grammar and physics of the universe. - Michael Donaghy
Buy Frankie, Alfredo,
ASK FOR IT BY NAME (2008)
Poems by Simon Barraclough, Olivia Cole, Isobel Dixon, Luke Heeley, Liane Strauss and Roisin Tierney.Buy Ask for It by Name
THE LIKE OF IT (2005)
Poems by Karen Annesen, Edward Barker, Katy Evans-Bush, Heather Holden, Simon Rees-Roberts, Liane Strauss
Buy The Like of It