Costa Book awards

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Friday Poem – From ‘You’ by John Haynes

With Valentine’s Day on the 14th February, this week’s Friday Poem is taken from the long-poem You by Costa-Award winning poet John Haynes.

You is a book-length poem by the late poet John Haynes. The ‘You’ of the title is the narrator’s partner and wife of many years. The book is not just a celebration of, and meditation on, personal love and devotion, but a record of how such love moves out of a family and is refracted out into the community and the wider world. The tensions inherent in this are compounded by the cross-cultural nature of the union. The narrator is a white British man and his wife was born and raised in Nigeria. Exploring a partnership based on culturally quite different – and in some aspects painfully incompatible –conceptions of ‘love’, the poem  is knit together by philosophical themes of ‘I’ and ‘you’ seen from many perspectives. Shortlisted for the T.S Eliot Prize.

that they flew back across the whole Sahara sleeping on the wing, as you begin to now, with those small sounds, back to Kagoma – that house where I met your mother in her starched tall headtie and her Dutch wax print and just a little shy to meet your White Man, but so glad with wrinkles smiling tight – just as I bend across you, turn the lamp off, draw the curtains, thinking with what skill I managed it on that rickety camp bed, making love with not the faintest squeal or crunk of springs. Like press-ups, I recall, rugby-fit then, mouth open while I howled into the dark not letting out a sound, or that night, at the dam, when we made love, remember, there beside the road, half in the car half out, with confidence enough to dare the world to drive towards us, then with full light on, and nights at Number Ten, insane with flesh, and resurrected new again each time as neither I nor you.

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Friday Poem – The Voice in which my Mother Read to Me

This cover shows a colourful painting of a school boy stomping with excitement viewed as if looking from the ground. The text reads: My Family and Other Superheroes, Jonathan Edwards.

The Friday poem is back f0r 2015 and we’re kicking off with The Voice in Which my Mother Read to Me from Jonathan Edwards’ Costa Poetry Award Winning collection My Family and Other Superheroes.

The Voice in which my Mother Read to Me

isn’t her good morning, good afternoon, good night voice,
her karaoke as she dusts, make furniture polite voice,
her saved for neighbours’ babies and cooing our dog’s name voice.

It isn’t her best china, not too forward, not too shy voice,
or her dinner’s ready, your room looks like a sty voice,
or her whisper in my ear as she adjusts my tie voice.

It’s not her roll in, Friday night, Lucy in the Sky voice,
her Sunday morning, smartest frock, twinkle-in-the-eye voice,
that passing gossip of the vicar with the Communion wine voice.

It’s not her ‘Gateau – no, ice cream – no… I can’t make the choice’ voice.
It’s not her decades late, fourth change, ‘Is this skirt smart enough?’ voice.
It’s not her caught me with the girl from number twenty-one voice.

That voice which she reserved for twelve-foot grannies, Deep South hobos,
that sleepy, secret staircase, selfish giants, Lilliput voice.
That tripping over, ‘Boy, why is your house so full of books?’ voice.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/183594834″]

My Family and Other Superheroes is available from the Seren website. Save 20% when you join our online book club.

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Jonathan Edwards Shortlisted For The 2014 Costa Poetry Award

This cover shows a colourful painting of a school boy stomping with excitement viewed as if looking from the ground. The text reads: My Family and Other Superheroes, Jonathan Edwards.

Jonathan Edwards has been shortlisted for the 2014 Costa Poetry Award with his debut book of poetry, My Family and Other Superheroes. The news comes just a few months after the collection was shortlisted for the Fenton Aldeburgh Poetry Prize.

The Costa Book Awards honour some of the most outstanding books of the year written by authors based in the UK and Ireland. There are five categories – First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children’s Book.

Edward’s heroes are a motley crew: Sophia Loren, Marty Mcfly and Evel Knievel jostle for space on the pages alongside Valley’s mams and dads, The kebabby in Merthyr and the traditional Welsh costume.

The judges: Owen Sheers, Anna Dreda, and Charlotte Runcie said of Jonathan’s book:
“Joyful and dynamic – a collection that’ll make you laugh and make you think.”

Edward’s superheroes will have to fight it out with the likes of  Colette Bryce, Lavina Greenlaw and Kei Miller for the esteemed award. The category winner will be announced on 5th January with one of the five category winners chosen as the overall Costa Book of the Year later in the month.

Get a copy of Jonathan’s award worthy collection here. Save 20% when you join our online book club.