Pighog Poets win Prizes
2011 has been a full and highly rewarding year for Pighog, with the sell-out Pigbaby Brighton poetry festival and a number of really exciting publications.
It gives us much pleasure to announce that two of our poets have been awarded prestigious prizes for works published by Pighog during 2011.
Coventry’s Antony Owen was named as one of the winners in the adult category of the 11 poets for 11/11 competition, organised by The Wilfred Owen Story in association with Port Sunlight Museum.
Owen’s The Dreaded Boy is a visceral and sensitively conceived pamphlet documenting the violence and loss inflicted by modern warfare. The poems it contains were partly inspired by a Remembrance event which Owen organised in November 2009 for a small charity helping injured paratroopers.
One of Owen’s poems features in a commemorative pamphlet entitled 11 poets for 11/11/11 following a reading by the prize-winning poet at the re-dedication of the UK's 2nd biggest Cenotaph at Port Sunlight Memorial. The Dreaded Boy was launched June 2011 in Coventry, and is the first published collection of war poetry to have emerged from the midlands city.
Our warmest congratulations also go out to Munster poet Mark Whelan, whose tender and finely-crafted new pamphlet Brighton Suite was named the winner of Ireland’s prestigious James Clarence Mangan prize.
Both The Dreaded Boy and Brighton Suite are available now in our bookshop.
Obituary: Moss Rich, 1910-2011
Moss Rich lived an extraordinary life filled with love and poetry which brought delight to his fans and family alike.
He claimed to have started writing poetry in the 1970s, but his wife Milly remembers him writing her love poems as early as the 1930s. In 1939 the young Moss met Milly at a performance at London’s Unity Theatre and shortly after commenced what was to become a life-long tradition.
Needing a way to make his first Valentine's Day with his sweetheart truly special, Moss lacked the resources to indulge in expensive gifts. Instead he put his imagination to work and composed a poem that so charmed Milly that it set in motion an unbroken tradition of writing her a romantic lyric for every birthday, anniversary and Valentine's Day.
As was the case for many of his generation, the war years saw Moss battle to support his family on a very tight budget, and he returned to work at the timber yard on the very same day that he married Milly. But what the Riches lacked in material wealth they more than made up for in tenderness and affection. Milly’s collection of love poems was steadily accruing.
In the 1970s the Riches moved to Hove, a decade which saw the acerbic side of Moss’s talent come to the fore. In 1975 he sent a satirical poem about the Harold Wilson government to a political columnist at The Times. He was surprised to see that they published it and even more so to receive a cheque for ‘two and a half or three guineas’ in payment for the piece. Rich says, ‘From then on, I began taking poetry seriously.’
Moss’s poems are nearly all intended to be read aloud, and what sets them apart is their special combination of exuberant rhythmic bounce and sarcastic sense of difference from social convention. But for all his pithy critique, Rich was a man with a very big heart and tender emotions often sit side by side with satire in his work.
After receiving his message from the Queen for his 100th birthday in 2010, Moss continued to shake off the effects of old age, publishing new works and receiving national media coverage as ‘Britain’s oldest working poet’. He and Milly were dubbed ‘The Most Romantic Pair in Britain’ in a feature that appeared in The Mirror. The piece caught the public imagination and the centenarian wordsmith appeared soon after in the video for ‘Let There be Love’ by former Spice Girl Mel C.
Moss’s sight had by then deteriorated, yet he continued to share his indefatigable creativity by dictating new poems and reciting old ones from memory. In 2010 he published A Patch of Land to House Six Million Ghosts through his own Writers Inn imprint and was reported to have several more publications in the pipeline. In 2011 Pighog Press published A Lifetime of Love, a luxury boxed edition of Moss’s love poetry printed on postcards. It was a year in which Moss also demonstrated his desire to spread his love of poetry as he supported the inaugural Moss Rich Poetry Prize, organised by Pighog Press in conjunction with the University of Sussex.
The prize proved a great success, and Pighog intends that by continuing to run it, we will sustain our celebration of the great man’s legacy of love and letters long into the future.
Pighog is planning a variety of memorial events with Moss’s family. If you knew Moss or were a member of his various writing groups including Brunswick Poets, and would like to be involved, click here to send us your details.
Rest in Peace Moss Rich, 1910-2011
Moss Rich died peacefully in his sleep on Sunday evening. Whilst very sad at his passing, we also celebrate his remarkable spirit and talent.
For more on Moss please click here.
Pigbaby Comes to Town!
It gives Pighog much pleasure to announce the availability of advance tickets and the finalised timetable for Pigbaby: The 2011 Brighton Poetry Festival. Running from 22nd - 26th of November, the festival features an array of local and international talent.
We've collaborated with a number of local partners to produce a varied and vibrant programme featuring everything from the seminal avant-gardism of Lee Harwood and Tom Raworth, through the earthy realism of Neil Rollinson and Lorna Thorpe, to the sensuous neo-Romanticism of Mimi Khalvati. It’s a festival propelled by the distinct trajectories of the writers involved and inspired by the ‘Alice and the Pigbaby’ passage of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. We believe Pigbaby has something to move and to stimulate no matter what your literary background.
Pigbaby is a chance to celebrate the electricity generated when rising stars such as Kay Syrad and Charlotte Gann share the stage with nationally celebrated figures such as Iain Sinclair and The Poetry Business founders Peter and Ann Sansom. The programme also emphasises Pighog’s ties to the Munster province of Ireland, with master poet Ciaran O'Driscoll bringing his moving and accessible verse to town alongside fellow Limerick poet Mark Whelan, who will launch Brighton Suite, a delightful new pamphlet which explores love and loss with crystalline imagery and beautifully modulated free verse.
Brighton Poetry Festival has put accessibility at the heart of its ethos, with a number of free events, concessional rates and an all-inclusive Festival Pass, which at just £16 (£10 concessions) could be the literary bargain of the season!
With venue capacity limited you are warmly invited to browse through the listings and buy your tickets in advance, entitling you to reserved seats.
We hope that our friends and supporters may like to download a Pigbaby flyer in pink or blue and share it with their friends. Interested journalists or bloggers can download the Press Release.
For the full timetable and to buy your tickets, please head on over to the Pigbaby web pages, which also feature more information about the fantastic poets appearing at the festival.
With many thanks for their support to Jackie Wills, Mark Hewitt and Lewes Live Lit, Limerick City Council, Clear Culture & Arts and Terrier TV. Pigbaby will take place at The Red Roaster Coffee House and Upstairs at Three and Ten, Brighton.
Pighog poets take their new books to Cuisle
Pighog has long enjoyed ties with poets from Limerick and is delighted once again to be visiting the city for the 16th Cuisle Limerick City International Poetry Festival, which runs from today through to Saturday October 15th.
Our partnership with poets from the region has borne fine fruits, from Ciaran O’Driscoll’s acclaimed Surreal Man to the Pighog Munster Series, to which Mark Whelan’s Brighton Suite is the latest addition.
This year Pighog Director John Davies has returned to lap up the lyrical feast, where he is also joined by the authors of a number of new publications which are to receive their Irish launch at the festival: Clare Best, author of Breastless , Slovenian Iztok Osojnik, launching Elsewhere and his compatriots and fellow contributors to the outstanding new anthology Here: Jani Kovacic, Tatjana Jamnik, Tina Kozin, Tone Skrjanec and Taja Kramberger.
Along with Elsewhere co-editor and contributor Radharani Pernarčič, lots of these writers are the subjects of new profiles on this website; to read them, just click on the authors' names.
Past Pighoggers to travel to Cuisle are Sarah Jackson, James Brookes and Jo Slade, whose readings at the festival you can watch on this website. For Jackson’s reading click here, while for the readings by Brookes and Slade, head over to our archive page, and browsing by year. You can find out more about Cuisle here.
Pigbaby Comes to Town - the 2011 Brighton Poetry Festival
Following the success of Pigbaby, last year’s rural literary tea-party, this year the festival is coming to town, as Pighog runs the 2011 Brighton Poetry Festival from from Tuesday 22 – Sunday 27 November mainly based at the Red Roaster Coffee House, Brighton.
With lots of help from Jackie Wills and collaboration with Lewes Live Lit, we’ve put together an exciting line-up of book launches, readings and a Poetry Masterclass, featuring a great mixture of established and up-and-coming poets from the south-east and farther afield.
New artists are being added to the bill all the time and the latest timetable, including Iain Sinclair, Lorna Thorpe and Charlotte Gann is as follows:
Wednesday 23 November
Wednesday 23
Kay Syrad, Ciaran O'Driscoll and Hugo Williams (tbc)
Doors 19.30 for 20.00
Thursday 24:
18.00 Launch of Mark Whelan’s Brighton Suite (Pighog Munster Series)
20.00 Readings from Iain Sinclair, Lee Harwood and Tom Raworth
Friday 25
18.00 Clare Best Launch of Breastless (Pighog Documentary Series)
20.00 Launch of Lorna Thorpe’s new collection from Arc with Charlotte Gann
Saturday 26
Doors 19.30
8.00 - 8.30 Mimi Khalvati book launch
8.50 - 9.40 Peter & Ann Sansom (with questions)
10.00 - 10.30 Catherine Smith
New dates - to be confirmed:
Tuesday 22
Poets from Limerick. Neil Rollinson plus open mic slots.
Wednesday 23
Kay Syrad, Ciaran O'Driscoll and Hugo Williams (tbc)
Red Roaster Coffee House
1d. St James’s Street
Brighton
BN2 1RE
All events £5. Saturday evening £10 (Concs £3/£6).
New Slovenian Books and Tour
Slovenia has for centuries occupied one of the most critical and telling fault lines in European culture. So with roots in Celtic culture, it's no surprise that the country is home to a rich poetic tradition - albeit one under-appreciated by Anglo-phone audiences.
Pighog has been working with poets in Slovenia since 2006 and we're delighted to announce the publication of two new volumes of contemporary Slovenian poetry in English: 'Elsewhere - new and selected poems by celebrated contemporary Slovenian poet Iztok Osojnik (translated by Pighog poet Maria Jastrzebska with Ana Jelnikar), and Here - an anthology of exciting new poets.
This autumn, with the support of the Slovenian Embassy, the poets are flying in to take their work on a whistlestop tour of South East England and Ireland. The poets are: Iztok Osojnik, Jani Kovacic, Tatjana Jamnik, Tina Kozin, Tone Skrjanec, Taja Kramberger and the dates and venues are as follows:
Saturday 8 October
2-5.30pm - Swedenborg Society London
Swedenborg House
20-21 Bloomsbury Way
London
WC1A 2TH
2pm Wine reception
2.30 Discussion on Slovenian poetry in English
3.15 Break
3.45 Launch of Iztok Osojnik's book
4.15 Break
4.30 Launch of Slovenian poetry anthology
5.15 Finish
Sunday 9 October
The Jam Factory, Oxford, doors 7.30 for 8pm. With very special musical guests
MacGillivray and
D. Gwalia.
The Jam Factory Restaurant and Bar
Hollybush Row
27 Park End Street
Oxford
OX1 1HU
Monday 10 October
Brighton, Redroaster, doors 7.30 for 8pm
1d St James's Street,
Brighton
BN2 1RE
Wednesday 12 October
Limerick, Ireland as part of Cuisle Limerick City International Poetry Festival
Entry to all events is FREE
Pighog gratefully acknowledges the support of the Embassy of the Slovenian Republic in London, the Trubar Foundation at the Slovene Writer's Association in Ljubljana, the Slovenian Writers Association International Publishers’ Meeting in Dane, Slovenia (2006), the Golden Boat International Poetry Translation Workshop at Škocjan, Slovenia; and the kind cooperation of the Swedenborg Society.
If you would like an invitation to the launch at Swedenborg House, please add your name to our mailing list or send us an email by clicking here.
Iain Sinclair reading in Hastings
Postcards from the 7th Floor,
Iain Sinclair's brain-tingling collaboration with artist
Oona Grimes (pictured with Sinclair, right) was a highlight of Pighog's calender last year and his reading in Hastings
on Thursday 27th October will be an opportunity to see the famed literary shaman reading
in the town that inspired this excellent body of work.We can now confirm that Sinclair’s fellow Hastings poet Nicholas Johnson, along with Pighog’s own John Davies, has been added to the bill. It’s shaping up to be a sensational evening, so do join us on October 27th at
Stade Hall
The Stade
Rock a Nore Road
Hastings
TN34 3FJ
Doors 7.30 pm for 8pm
Entry FREE!
Masterclass with the founders of The Poetry Business
Any poet worth his or her salt will tell you that a writer’s life is one of ongoing learning. So we’re delighted that local poet Jackie Wills is offering a very special poetry Masterclass Weekend to coincide with the 2011 Brighton Poetry Festival. The Masterclass offers a one-off chance to create new work and have poems critiqued by the brilliant tutors, poets and founders of The Poetry Business Peter and Ann Sansom. It is aimed at poets who are regularly published with a track record in magazines, a pamphlet, or full-length collections.
Running from Saturday November 26 to Sunday November 27 from 10am to 5pm, the Masterclass will be held at Chesworth Arts Farm, an intimate and tranquil venue in the countryside, about 45 minutes’ drive from Brighton, accessible by train with a 10-15 minute walk from the station. Car share may be available.
The cost of the workshop is a very modest £60 per person (bring your own lunch) or £80 if you want lunch provided. Tea and coffee is included.
Peter and Ann are brilliant tutors, writers and editors. The weekend will give you a chance to produce new work, submit a poem for critical feedback, focus on technique and how other writers work.
Peter wrote the classic Writing Poems, published by Bloodaxe (1994). Carcanet publish his poetry: Everything You’ve Heard is True, a Poetry Book Society Recommendation 1990), January (1994), Point of Sale (2000), The Last Place on Earth (2006) and Selected Poems (2010).
Ann Sansom has published six collections: as Ann Dancy Painting from Memory (Smith/Doorstop 1989) and Opening the Ice (Smith/Doorstop 1990) and as Ann Sansom Romance (Bloodaxe 1994), Vehicle (Slow Dancer Press 1999), In Praise of Men and Other People (Bloodaxe 2003).
The Poetry Business, founded in 1986 in Huddersfield, has published many of the UK’s top poets including Simon Armitage, Carol Ann Duffy, Daljit Nagra, Pascale Petit, Selima Hill, Ian McMillan and Catherine Smith.
If you are interested please email a brief biography and 3 sample poems to Jackie Wills at wills.jackie@googlemail.com. She will then contact you asking for payment by cheque, upon receipt of which your place on the course will be confirmed.
If you don't receive a reply it means you haven't made it onto this year's workshop, but there will be more in the future.
See the exceptional Charlotte Gann read her uncanny verse.
This autumn is already shaping up to be a veritable banquet of poetry events, as the calendar fills up with Pigbaby, Slovenian book launches, and an exclusive Masterclass with the founders of The Poetry Business.
One of the highlights over this most poetic of seasons will unquestionably be the fabulous Charlotte Gann whose beautiful and uncanny debut pamphlet The Long Woman has had seen critics struggling for the right words to praise it, 'splendidly tantalising' is The Frogmore Papers’ effusive assessment, while the award-winning poet Abi Curtis rightly praises it as 'a wonderfully uncanny treat.'
This October 6th, come and join us to hear Charlotte reading alongside the excellent Catherine Smith and Robert Dickinson at the Needlemakers’ Cafe, Lewes, an event organised by Needlewriters.
Further details of the reading are below:
Doors open 7pm
Readings begin 7.45 pm
TICKETS: £5 (£3 unwaged and claiming benefit)
In the meantime, readers are invited to wet their appetites for Charlotte's event by reading the full review of The Long Woman here and investing in their own copies (they’re shifting fast) here.
'Amazing' Sarah Jackson is nominated for the Edwin Morgan Prize
Sarah Jackson, author of the darkly distinctive debut pamphlet Milk, has long been one of Pighog's favourite poets, and we're delighted to see that she's been nominated for the prestigious Edwin Morgan Prize.
Her chilling poem 'Remains' is shortlisted for the main prize while 'Ten O'Clock Horses' is recognised in the competition's Commended category. The judges rightly commend Sarah's suggestive layering of meaning in 'Remains,' a enthralling piece which seems to change and grow every time you read it. Sarah has reading from reading her new work in Slovenia, a trip facilitated in part through Pighog's international networking with poets in Slovenia and the Cuisle Limerick City International Poetry Festival, where she read her work last year. Catch exclusive footage of Sarah's spellbinding reading at Cuisle over on our media page, and read 'Remains,' 'Ten O'Clock Horses' and the other shortlisted poems here. Sarah's new collection is forthcoming from Bloodaxe, whose founding editor Neil Astley hits the nail on the head when calls Sarah's work 'amazing'.
Oona Grimes takes inventive image-texts to The Saison Poetry Library
Artist Oona Grimes, whose unique drawings appear in Postcards from the 7th Floor, is set to continue her intertextual artistry with an exciting new intervention at The Saison Poetry Library.
Grimes' work for Postcards (see right) sees the celebrated artist use silly-season regional newspaper headlines and collaborator Iain Sinclair's hallucinogenic beat verse as jumping off-points for her exuberant and highly inventive drawings. Her intervention at the Saison Poetry Library will see Grimes - here billed as "like a demented Carroll or Lear on speed" - let loose on the library's national archives, liberating words and phrases from their original contexts and using them as the basis for more of her remarkable image-texts. Postcards from the 7th Floor sees this approach flourish in tandem with Iain Sinclair's pyscho-raconteurism and is a beautifully designed, carbon-neutral limited edition. For the true collector, there is alsoUPDATE: Congratulations to WS from London who purchased the final retail copy of Postcards from the 7th Floor: Gold Edition. Look out for more special editions from Pighog in the future.
Charlotte Gann sheds light on The Long Woman
Charlotte Gann is the author of the mysterious and richly rewarding poetry pamphlet The Long Woman. In an exclusive interview with Pighog's Assistant Editor Tom Slingsby, the poet sheds light on her creative processes and the ferment of influences and experiences which make her work so compelling.
The interview is full of revealing insights for poetry fans and aspiring writers alike, Gann describing how her poems evolve out of the "complex characters, stories and constructions," which lay behind each one and comparing writing to directing a film, "holding a camera, choosing an angle, creating a scene". The Long Woman is a truly remarkable poetic debut and is available here for just £6 + p&p! Read the full interview on our media page.
Antony Owen hailed at regional launch of The Dreaded Boy
We were delighted at the reception given to the gritty and thrilling poetry of Antony Owen as he lauched his Pighog Passport in Crawley.
Peter Crosskey of the Write On Crawley Blog gave the event a great write-up, commenting:"Antony Owen’s voice makes an enduring impression: barrel-chested and bell-like, it fills the room like a rising tide. His cross-cultural advocacy for the victims of war underlines the compassion and breadth of his vision."
Click here to find out more about The Dreaded Boy and here to read Crosskey's full article, 'War Poetry of our Times'.
Join us for the launch of Charlotte Gann's exquisite new pamphlet
The Long Woman
Pighog Press invites you to be part of a very special occasion next Wednesday as Sussex poet Charlotte Gann gives a FREE launch to her captivating debut pamphlet, The Long Woman.
Both revelatory and mysterious, Gann's poetry invites the reader into a darkly re-imagined Sussex, a dreamlike, beautiful territory where the uncanny energies which lay behind interpersonal relationships rise up and are captured in wonderfully crafted story-poems.
Described by Abi Curtis as “an explorer of psychological depths with an elegant gift for the perfect word,” Charlotte Gann takes her rightful place in Pighog's uniquely representative Sussex Series of poetry pamphlets.
The launch of The Long Woman promises to be an unmissable event for all poetry fans. Join us at the Redroaster Coffee House this coming Wednesday 18th May at 8pm to hear the poet read her work and get your copy of this exquisite limited edition pamphlet.
Redroaster Coffee House,
1d St James's Street,
Brighton
BN2 1RE
ENTRY FREE
Pighog is delighted to announce that 30 special advance copies of The Long Woman are available for order now in advance of the official July 1st publication date. Click here to read more about Charlotte Gann.
Ciaran O'Driscoll's
poetry recognised by leading literary website
Confirming our belief that he is one of the most fascinating voices in contemporary poetry, Ciaran O'Driscoll has recently been profiled on the prestigious Molossos World Poetry Portfolio website.
Based in Limerick, Ireland, Ciaran published his superb pamphlet Surreal Man with Pighog, and has recently made a number of visits to the UK to share his work with rapt audiences, including memorable readings at the launch of Iain Sinclair's Postcards from the 7th Floor and last year's superb Pigbaby Festival. He also hosted a number of Pighog poets as part of The 15th Cuisle Limerick City International Poetry Festival, which he organises.
The profile includes a number of Ciaran's poems and cites The Irish Times' description of Ciaran as
“a poet in confident possession and exercise of his craft. [His] poems do what good poems should do, widening and deepening the world for the rest of us.”
Catch Terrier TV's superb video of the poet reading 'West' in the wilds of Ireland's windswept Burren and find out more about Ciaran O'Driscoll here.
A Shed in an Abbey? On a Royal Wedding Day?
Peaceful, picturesque and host to a brilliant array of cultural events, the Abbey at Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire seems as good a place as any for Shedman to pitch his mobile shed.
Perhaps you feel inspired to pen a nuptial ode to William and Kate, or maybe you'd just like some expert help dusting the cobwebs off a poem you've written.
In any case, the loveable literary activist will be on hallowed ground to celebrate sheds, life and literature from 28-29 April and 4-8 May, with a special poetry workshop 7-9pm, May 5.
The festival also features the strange and compelling performance art of Brian Catling, and the music of Kirsten Norrie, both of whom featured in Pighog's recent celebration of the art of Matthew Luck Galpin.
For full information about Shedman's Dorchester residency, please visit the festival website.
New Passport Series launched with Antony Owen's brilliant The Dreaded Boy
Passports is the innovative and collectable new series of poetry pamphlets from Pighog. Sporting a great new design and an affordable price, it shines the spotlight on the work of outstanding poets in the early stages of their careers.
The series kicks off with The Dreaded Boy by Antony Owen, and it's a timely meditation on war and bereavement, crossing cultural frontiers and exhibiting an unflinching ethical commitment as it unveils the personal stories of soldiers and their families.
Join us on April 6th at 7:30pm as Owen launches the pamphlet with a very special reading at the Hawth Theatre to open and close a unique one-off Open Mic Night as part of the Crawley Wordfest.
Get up to speed with this sensational new publication by reading a profile of the author here and Assistant Editor Tom Slingsby's overview of The Dreaded Boy here.The Dreaded Boy will be available for online purchase from 6th April and Pighog Press is donating £1 from every copy sold to The Karen Woo Foundation.
Mighty Munster Poets at Crawley WordFest!
As part of our presence at Crawley WordFest, we are delighted to present a special free event featuring some of the finest wordsmiths from the poetry-rich region of Munster, Ireland.
With the support of Arts Services, Limerick City Council, the following three fascinating poets are to fly in especially for the Crawley WordFest:
Ciaran O'Driscoll
Jo Slade
Bridget Wallace
Mark Whelan
The event will take place at 7.30pm on Friday 8th April, upstairs at
Pizza Express,
2 The Boulevard,
Crawley,
West Sussex,
RH10 1XX.
Tel: 01293 531678.
With its blend of dark humour and lyrical craft, it's no surprise that Ciaran O'Driscoll's poetry has received international acclaim. As shown in his Pighog collection, Surreal Man, his work combines a killer sense of humour with the acumen and verbal dexterity gained over a lifetime creating and teaching art and literature. Find out more about Ciaran here.
Bridget Wallace is a native of Limerick city. She has been writing poetry for many years and has been published in Incognito and The Stony Thursday Book. Some of her most recent work appears in Sextet, an anthology. Bridget has a strong academic interest in literature, particularly poetry, and has been a tutor with Oscail, the Irish Open University. In 2010 she graduated with a Phd. from Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. Bridget’s special area of interest is Postcolonial theory and modern Middle Eastern literature.
Mark Whelan was born in Limerick in 1960 and with Paul Sweeney was instrumental both in the establishment of what is now known as Cuisle Limerick City International Poetry Festival and in the revival of The Stony Thursday Book literary journal, for which he was editor of four editions. Involved in just about every poetry event in Limerick, his collections are Scarecrow Dyptich (2003), from Anam Press, and Pushing The Pull Door (2008), from Revival Press.
The WordFest already boasts a superb selection of events, including Report, Discuss, Promote, a panel discussion on spreading words with new and old media, featuring Pighog Press Director John Davies, and a Live Open Mic night featuring the launch of Antony Owen's stunning new pamphlet, The Dreaded Boy.
Our friends in Crawley expect to be adding to their impressive line-up of poetry, music, fiction and debate over the next week, so please check their events page for all the latest information.
See you there!
A wonderful night at the Moss Rich Poetry Prize-giving!
Thank you to everyone who came to the Moss Rich Poetry Prize-giving on Friday 11th March. It was a sensational evening of poetry, music and celebration and we'd especially like to thank all the judges and entrants.
Moss, Britain's oldest working poet now in his 101st year, was unable to attend the prize-giving in person, so recorded his introduction on video in his hospital room. Moss is blind and very deaf yet still composes poems in his head and recites them from memory. Please click here to view the video.
The prize-giving was introduced by River Jones, Community Convenor at Centre for Community Engagement and John Davies, Director of Pighog Press. Chair of the judges Abi Curtis announced the winners and Milly Rich presented the certificates.
Curtis said, “The poetry demonstrated a wide range of responses to the theme of 'Root and Branch', and the entries were lively and creative. Those poems that made it to the final stages stood out for their strength of voice, fresh take on the theme, striking imagery and emotional depth. It was a great pleasure to judge the competition, and I'm sure it will go from strength to strength.” You can read her full assessment here.
The full list of prize-winners and runners up can be found here .
Thanks again to everyone who joined us on Friday and congratulations to the winners and runners-up.
Take the next step into publishing with Brendan Cleary’s Poetry Masterclasses
PRESS RELEASE:
Are you an avid reader and writer of poetry but lack the confidence and direction needed to take the next step into publishing? Well Brighton based publishing company, Pighog Press, is introducing a series of intensive poetry workshops at the Jubilee Library, specially designed to help writers develop their work for publication and professional presentation.
The Professional Practice Masterclasses, which will take place on Saturdays throughout March, will provide detailed feedback on individuals' work and explore the poetry writing process in depth with a strong emphasis on editing. The sessions will include personal attention, detailed class discussion & innovative writing exercises.
Participants will be taught by highly respected tutor of poetry and Brighton based poet, Brendan Cleary. His guide to writing poetry, The Poet's Notebook, from Pighog Press, was the first book released via Twitter. He has also published 7 full-length poetry collections including his latest publication Goin' Down Slow Selected Poems 1985-2010.
The four masterclasses will take place at the Learning Centre within Brighton Jubilee Library on March 5, 12, 19, 26. They will begin at 10am and end at 4pm with an hour-long lunch and writing and research break. Please note that lunch is not included in the price of the series and spaces are limited to 12 participants per class.
The entire four day course will cost £120 (£100 concessions) per person. To book your place, call 01273 242850. If paying by cheque please make sure we receive your cheque by March 3rd 2011. Please leave a message with your name and number if your call isn't answered in person.
As this is a specialist course reliant on full participation, part attendance is not possible and no refunds will be given for course sessions not attended.
GETTING THERE:
Getting to Jubilee Library Walk: Jubilee Library is located right in the heart of Brighton’s city centre North Laine district. It’s about 10 minutes by foot from Brighton Station and the seafront. Bus: The nearest main bus stops with all linking bus routes located at North Street, North Road, Gloucester Place and Grand Parade. Cycle: Jubilee Library is easy to reach by bike with routes through the North Laine area and New Road and a contra flow running along Jubilee Street and Church Street. Cycle parking is available either side of the library.
The Learning Centre,
Jubilee Library,
Jubilee Street,
Brighton
BN1 1GE
Pighog to launch Passport Series with
Antony Owen's
The Dreaded Boy
at Crawley WordFest
We're really pleased to announce the Passport Series, a collectable new edition of debut pamphlets by talented new poets.
The Dreaded Boy by Antony Owen is the first in the series, and it's a deeply affecting, imaginatively crafted suite of poems documenting the violence and loss inflicted by modern warfare.
The pamphlet will be launched as part of Crawley Wordfest, an exciting new grassroots festival supported by Pighog. It will be taking place at a variety of venues around the West Sussex town. The Passports launch event will be at the Hawth Theatre, Crawley on Wednesday April 6th.
Pighog will have a stall at the Wordfest Book Fair on Saturday April 2nd and our Director John Davies will be taking part in a panel discussion on publishing in the bar of the Hawth, before the Passports launch event on April 6th.
Watch this space for more information about the Passport Series and our involvement in Crawley Wordfest. Wordfest will be on from 2nd-9th April 2011 and you can swing on by their website for up-to-date information about the festival.
Great opportunities for entrants to the
Moss Rich Poetry Prize!
Moss Rich Poetry Prize!
As you most likely know, we've been working with the Centre for Community Engagement (CCE) at the University of Sussex to bring you Root and Branch, the inaugural Moss Rich ‘Sounding the Site’ Poetry Prize.
The Prize is part of University of Sussex Greenweek 2011 and Sounding the Site community arts festival; our friends at CCE have been in touch to let you all know that these events include a series of great opportunities for prize entrants.
On Saturday, March 5th the University will be kicking off Greenweek in Jubilee Square, Brighton with Sustainable City Day. This will generate a great audience for poetry so entrants are invited to come along and read their work!
The Greenweek program also includes a number of scheduled and unscheduled performances, and organiser Paul Stones is looking for 'Pop-up Poets' to read their work as part of these. Why not get in touch with Paul [with an email to whatsinthebag at live dot co dot uk] to tell him about your work?
Furthermore, the prizewinners will be reading their work at the Root and Branch finale event on 11th March. You can find all the latest information here.
Additionally, we'll be celebrating World Book Day and Night in Brighton's Jubilee Library, and all competition entrants are invited along to read their poems. Please see below for more details.
The Prize offers a stepping stone for anyone in Sussex who's committed to developing their poetry. Please join us for these events to make the most of the fun and encouragement that the Sussex poetry community has to offer!
Celebrate World Book Day and Night with Pighog at the Jubilee Library
Readers are warmly invited to join us for two superb poetry events as we celebrate World Book Day and Night at the Jubilee Library in Brighton on the 3rd and 5th March.
On 3rd March, visitors are warmly invited to write about and share their favourite books or reading experiences. Pighog will be on hand to talk about its distinctive, limited edition publications and to talk to aspiring writers.
We'll also be starting a special series of poetry Masterclasses for aspiring poets with poet Brendan Cleary on the same day. Please see below for full details.
We'll then be continuing our stint at the Jubilee Library on the evening of March 5th for World Book Night as the Library marks its 6th year anniversary with a free celebration from 8pm- 12.30am.
For more information please download the press release.
Moss Rich featured in The Mirror!
Be sure to buy today's Mirror, because The UK's oldest working poet Moss Rich is the feature of an exciting double page feature chronicling his extraordinary life in poetry.
Moss appeared in the Mirror earlier this month, discussing his sensational new box set, A Lifetime of Love.
With the indefatigable veteran also judging the Moss Rich Poetry Prize, it seems there is just no stopping Moss.
Pighog
Poet
Maria Jastrzebska’s
latest work featured in The Guardian
Maria Jastrzebska has been praised by The Guardian for creating a play that strikes to the core of the issue of dementia.
Her play, Dementia Diaries, has developed from some of her earlier prose poems and has been presented as a series of monologues. Its structure only adds to its power as Jasrzebska tackles the effects the disease has on sufferers, carers and families.Dementia Diaries has just finished its first run of performances at the Nuffield Theatre in Southampton and will soon continue its countrywide tour in London.
Click here to read The Guardian's article.
The
deadline
of the Moss Rich Poetry Prize
is fast approaching!
If you swept your loved one off their feet this Valentine’s day with your beautifully crafted verses perhaps it’s time to take your talent seriously and take some inspiration from Britain’s oldest working poet Moss Rich. Rich has just released a unique limited edition box set of love poems, written since 1939 for his wife Milly to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries. And to honour his astounding talents Pighog Press, in association with the University of Sussex, is delighted to launch a brand new poetry prize.
Pighog Press is an award-winning publisher based in Brighton which is known for its distinctive, limited edition publications. Importantly, the organisation prides itself on its ability to discover unique and exciting new talent in the literary world.
Director of Pighog Press John Davies says, 'As a Sussex based publishing company we are extremely proud of the talent which is constantly emerging from the Sussex area and feel that this competition will be the ideal way to celebrate it. We hope everyone in Sussex who is committed to developing their poetry, whether young or old, will enter the prize and that they will be encouraged and inspired by the amazing example of Moss Rich.'
In other prize-related news, we're delighted to confirm that the already superb panel of prize judges has been strengthened by the addition of Brendan Cleary. Brendan is celebrated for the simultaneously side-splitting and poignant nature of his poetry, and is one of the UK's foremost teachers of the art, so the judges are delighted to welcome him aboard.
The Moss Rich Poetry Prize: submit your entry now! Read John O'Donoghue's exclusive tips!
With the deadline in the Moss Rich poetry prize fast approaching,
Pighog poet John O'Donoghue
joins us to offer his exclusive, invaluable tips on entering the
competition. Please visit
our media page to read the full interview.
Announcing
Root
and Branch: The Moss Rich Poetry Prize
Loved for his unique brand of satirical poetry, Moss Rich is not only one of Pighog's favourite poets, but at 100 years of age, the oldest working poet in Britain! So it gives us great pleasure to announce the creation of a new poetry prize in his honour, launched with the support of the Centre for Community Engagement(CCE) and the Students' Union at Sussex University.
Moss has been writing poetry 'seriously' since the 1970s, and in recent years has defied old age with collections such as Requiem For A Typewriter and A Patch of Land to House Six Million Ghosts; evidence not only of his vitality but of a creative spirit which continues to capivate readers. Read a full profile of Moss here.
To be judged by Moss himself, award-winning poet and Sussex University graduate Abi Curtis, and Pighog Director John Davies, the prize is open to four categories of entrant who must be based in East or West Sussex: 1. Secondary School students, 2. Further Education students, 3. University students and 4. General public (not students).
The winner of each category will receive £75 each plus a limited edition Pighog box set which includes a signed Moss Rich pamphlet. Two runners up from each category will also receive a limited edition Pighog box set. All winners will receive a copy of Moss Rich’s latest collection. The winning poems and the runners up will be published on the Pighog website with comments from the judges.
Pighog loves to read the work of new poets, and this is a great opportunity for you to put your work on the map! So please click here to read more about the prize, its rules and how to submit your entry.
Good luck!
Postcards from
the 7th Floor commended by leading design website.
2010 has been a really exciting year for us at Pighog Press, with the launch of our new-look website and a number of new publications featuring the inventive, unmistakable design of Aneel Kalsi. He's been helping us take the traditional poetry pamphlet forward as an item of visual as well as literary value.
So we're delighted to see that It's Nice That, a website which scouts and curates the best of new design talent, has chosen to recognise Postcards from the 7th Floor for its creative, interdisciplinary approach.
Needless to say, the book is fast selling out with this kind of attention, so head over to the bookshop to get your hands on a copy now!
