Say it With Me Archives

Posted on December 15, 2023December 15, 2023 by Seren Books

Friday Poem – ‘The Crux’ by Vanessa Lampert

This week’s Friday Poem is ‘The Crux’ by Vanessa Lampert from her debut collection Say it With Me. We recently interviewed Vanessa about the book on The Seren Poetry Podcast. Listen & subscribe on your favourite podcast app.

The Crux
Through layers of Christmas
you come back to haunt us,
the sink’s greasy burden
unmanned by your absence,
the turkey more lunged at
than carved. How many years
since you ended it, eleven?
My mind’s eye has you restless
as you were. Muscular and lean
as a much younger man
thanks to all that running,
which, as it turned out
was away. You left us to guess
what hell it was
that hunted you. That’s the crux
of what’s haunting us now.

Posted on October 6, 2023October 6, 2023 by Seren Books

Friday Poem – ‘Tower’ by Vanessa Lampert

Close up photo of a child's holding onto their parent's hand with the sun flaring over the image.

This week’s Friday Poem is ‘Tower’ by Vanessa Lampert which was recently highly commended in the Forward Prizes for Poetry. The poem is published in her debut collection Say it With Me.

Tower
My father took me to London
when my whole fist could fit
inside his palm.
On the tube he lifted me up
and, holding tight stepped out
from our carriage to the next
through the filthy hurtling dark
to thrill me, then did it again.
By the river he bought chestnuts
roasted on a brazier.
My red gloves swung on strings.
I looked up at the tower of him,
and grief would never dare
to touch my life.

Posted on May 5, 2023May 17, 2023 by Seren Books

Friday Poem – ‘The Crux’ by Vanessa Lampert

This week’s Friday Poem is ‘The Crux’ by Vanessa Lampert from her debut collection Say it With Me.

This September, you’re invited to explore the unseen and the unsettling. From dark and menacing landscapes to the everyday terrors of domestic settings disturbingly close to home, these stories will horrify and delight in equal measure. Be prepared, for ‘this is a land of ancient power, and even more ancient beings...’ Pre-order the latest addition to our Welsh Gothic series, ‘Giving the Darkness Life’ on our website now.
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Stories by @markblayney1, Mary-Ann Constantine, @damianwalforddavies, Caradoc Evans, Dorothy K. Haynes, @lucie_mckhardy Arthur Machen, Elinor Mordaunt, John Llewellyn Probert, L.T.C. Rolt, @priyasharma1000, Edward Thomas, Elizabeth Walter and D.P. Watt
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@inpressbooks @books.wales #WelshGothic #SerenBooks #NationalYearOfReading2026 #SpookySeason #AutumnBooks

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This September, you’re invited to explore the unseen and the unsettling. From dark and menacing landscapes to the everyday terrors of domestic settings disturbingly close to home, these stories will horrify and delight in equal measure. Be prepared, for ‘this is a land of ancient power, and even more ancient beings...’ Pre-order the latest addition to our Welsh Gothic series, ‘Giving the Darkness Life’ on our website now.
.
Stories by @markblayney1, Mary-Ann Constantine, @damianwalforddavies, Caradoc Evans, Dorothy K. Haynes, @lucie_mckhardy Arthur Machen, Elinor Mordaunt, John Llewellyn Probert, L.T.C. Rolt, @priyasharma1000, Edward Thomas, Elizabeth Walter and D.P. Watt
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@inpressbooks @books.wales #WelshGothic #SerenBooks #NationalYearOfReading2026 #SpookySeason #AutumnBooks

We had a wonderful time listening to @megan.c.hayes talking about her memoir ‘Glimmering’ with Kath Little from @bardic_books at St Illtud’s church in Llantwit Major on Saturday. Diolch yn fawr to everyone who joined us and to Kath for hosting! Copies of ‘Glimmering’ are available now in your local bookshop.
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#Glimmering #Memoir #SerenBooks #IndependentBookshop #NationalYearOfReading2026

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We had a wonderful time listening to @megan.c.hayes talking about her memoir ‘Glimmering’ with Kath Little from @bardic_books at St Illtud’s church in Llantwit Major on Saturday. Diolch yn fawr to everyone who joined us and to Kath for hosting! Copies of ‘Glimmering’ are available now in your local bookshop.
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#Glimmering #Memoir #SerenBooks #IndependentBookshop #NationalYearOfReading2026

Ebooks available now! ‘In Search of Sea Dragons’, ‘Muslim Wales’ and ‘The Waters That Raised Us’ are now available from all major ebook retailers meaning you can take them with you on the go 🎉 Do you prefer reading ebooks, print books or both?
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@severn.sea.fossils @azimwales @tayloredmonds #Ebooks #Kindle #SerenBooks #BooksFromWales #LoveReading

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Ebooks available now! ‘In Search of Sea Dragons’, ‘Muslim Wales’ and ‘The Waters That Raised Us’ are now available from all major ebook retailers meaning you can take them with you on the go 🎉 Do you prefer reading ebooks, print books or both?
.
@severn.sea.fossils @azimwales @tayloredmonds #Ebooks #Kindle #SerenBooks #BooksFromWales #LoveReading

🏆@maggiepoet continues her winning streak having won the Guyana Prize for Literature Poetry Award with her collection ‘I Sing to the Greenhearts’! Available now in bookshops nationwide and on our website!
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#AwardWinning #GuyanaPrize #Poetry #PoetryBooks #SerenBooks

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🏆@maggiepoet continues her winning streak having won the Guyana Prize for Literature Poetry Award with her collection ‘I Sing to the Greenhearts’! Available now in bookshops nationwide and on our website!
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#AwardWinning #GuyanaPrize #Poetry #PoetryBooks #SerenBooks

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