The Studio Game by Peter Burnett, follows a young couple trying to ‘make it big’ in the contemporary art world. However, Liska and Guy Poynti ng believe the only way that this can be achieved is through their own death. Having completed their final collection, the couple plan to jump hand in hand from a Read More
Jon Grahame (pseudonym of journalist Denis Kilcommons), winner of the John Creasey Award from the Crime Writers’ Association of Great Britain for his first book, The Dark Apostle, offers Reaper, the first of his new trilogy of the same name. Reaper is a post-apocalyptic revenge tale-turned vigilante plot, full of action and violence…and not much Read More
Grahame Davies (Seren, 2012); pbk, £8.99 In Grahame Davies’ collection, Lightning Beneath The Sea, the final poem, “Doorway”, ends with the line, “Come on”, you said, “There’s plenty more to see.” The same can be said for Davies’ poems. Curious, reflective and often introspective, his poems introduce the different people we may encounter in a Read More
Julian Lees (Sandstone Press, 2013); pbk £8.99 Before even beginning to read Julian Lee’s novel The House of the Trembling Leaves, the title provides poignant imagery with its suggested opposition: the sturdiness of a house to the fragility of leaves. This contrast between strong and weak is one that recurs in this poetic novel which Read More
Elizabeth Reeder (Kohl Publishing, 2012); pbk. £8.99. Elizabeth Reeder’s second novel, Fremont, follows hot on the heels of her well-received debut, Ramshackle. Fremont has the same assuredness and lightness of touch, strong characterisation, and beautiful poetic prose as the earlier novel. It also takes the reader to a different state, in many different ways. Fremont Read More
(USA, 2012) 7 -13 June; DCA. Peter “Ginger” Baker is a London-born, red haired pioneer of percussion, often cited as the most influential drummer of the 1960s. Setting the tempo for bands such as Cream and Blind Faith, and infusing jazz, rock and African rhythms, has won Baker a long list of admirers of his Read More
Maria Jastrzębska (Waterloo Press, 2013);pbk: £10.00. It is well known that our senses create our most vivid recollections: familiar smells, images and objects bring back memories just as if they are present in the here and now. In At The Library of Memories, Maria Jastrzębska takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of her personal Read More
Leslie Bell (Mica Press,2012), Pbk, £8.00 Leslie Bell has lived in Britain, Europe and America and has worked in a wide and unrelated spectrum of jobs ranging from building work to systems programming to autism support. In light of his background, it is not surprising that Bell’s first collection of poetry is entitled Archipelagos. Written Read More
Guy Ware (Comma Press, 2012); pbk, £7.95. Identity is the prevalent theme in Guy Ware’s debut collection of short stories, You Have 24 Hours to Love Us.Various characters struggle with the urge and pressure to re-define themselves according to either society’s notions of identity or their own. Throughout his collection, Ware examines how individuals define Read More
We imagine we know where the danger lies with Johanna Basford, considering ourselves already overly familiar with her work. Not yet thirty and but a short jump beyond her Degree Show, just yards down the road from the DCA, we might believe ourselves too cosy in her lacy company. We know what she does. Therein Read More