When @nationcymru asked me to write a piece for them as part of their ‘On being a writer in Wales’ series, and in particular how I’ve been using poetry as part of our campaign to save West Cross Common, I turned once again to the miraculous bumble bee. Bees have so much to teach us, I think. About working together and doing our bit, and joy. I’ll pop a link to the article in my stories. #thiscommonuncommon #bees #bumblebees #activistpoetry #ecopoetry #climatechange #poetry #parthianbooks #thelanguageofbees
The language of bees is now available to buy at @nationaltrust #dyffryngardens! 🐝 #nationaltrust #poetry #bees #thelanguageofbees #naturepoetry #ecopoetry #parthianbooks
I’m really looking forward to running this workshop at the Wetlands Centre in Llanelli, using the beautiful wetlands to inspire us. Tickets are available to book on the WWT website - I’ll put the link in stories 🍃 “Often humans view animals through the lens of their usefulness, but what happens when we inhabit another species’ point of view, and see the world through their eyes? Can we gain a new understanding of the landscape, the web of life, and our human place in it? Using the Wetlands as a resource, you will head outdoors, exploring the unique landscape of the wetlands and encountering some of the many species that call it home. You will choose a species (animal or plant) and the second half of the workshop will be spent indoors, writing a response to your creature or plant.” #wetlands #wwt #wildfowlandwetlandstrust #llanelliwetlands #poetry #poetryworkshop #naturepoetry #ecopoetry #parthianbooks
Amazing day at @aberystwythpoetryfestival yesterday, lush to see so many great events and catch up with lovely poets Kathy Miles, Matthew Francis, @tazphotopoetry @createdtoread @pollyrowena @katrinanaomipoet and of course spend the day in sunny Aber with the best editor @soozeramawales and my fellow @parthian_books poet and superstar @mariellisdunning and her bestie the lovely Katie 🥰 Huge thanks to @thebookshopbythesea_ for organising such a brilliant event, and for inviting me to speak. The festival is on til Monday - catch it if you can! Credit to Mari, Katie and the Bookshop for photos! #aberystwyth #aberystwythpoetryfestival #bookshopbythesea #parthianbooks #poetry #poetryfestival #thiscommonuncommon #thelanguageofbees #westcrosscommon #savewestcrosscommon
Poetry and protest! I’ll be at @aberystwythpoetryfestival on Saturday, where I’m previewing poems from my about-to-launch collection This Common Uncommon, and talking about the role of poetry as an amazing tool in a campaign. Plus I’ll read some old favourites from The language of bees of course 🐝 Bank Vault, 12pm Saturday - see you there! #parthianbooks #aberystwyth #aberystwythpoetryfestival #thiscommonuncommon #thelanguageofbees #poetry #westcrosscommon
The wonderful @georgia_carys_w is launching her fabulous new novel, Unspeakable Beauty, here on the 15th of May at 6pm! This is a free event, however secure your space through our events page in our bio-link. Unspeakable Beauty follows Violet Hart, a quiet and sheltered only child who has always dreamt of becoming something extraordinary: a ballet icon as famous as Margot Fonteyn. Guarding her dream closely after suffering a catastrophic loss, Violet falls further into quietness, learning to speak only with her feet as she pursues a path to a career in dance. On the cusp of adulthood, she finally starts to find her voice. • • • #unspeakablebeauty #georgiacaryswilliams #swanseaevents #swanseaauthor #welshauthor #welshwriting #parthianbooks #bookevent #booklaunch #bookshopevent #swanseawaterstones #swanseastones #swanseabookshop #swanseabooksellers
In the spirit of women standing together, I’m coming off the reserve bench today to take part in this @llandeilolitfest event, as poor Jasmine Donahaye is unwell. Hope you feel better soon! #llandeilolitfest #womanswales #parthianbooks
The short version of my essay on bees, climate change and lavender is in today’s #westernmail Weekend magazine! I thought I’d plugged @gowerlavender but actually I just spent a lot of time talking about lavender farming and forgot to name the actual company 🤦🏼♀️ But at least I managed to plug the last book, the new book and Woman’s Wales, so hopefully @parthian_books are happy 😅 #ThisCommonUncommon #thelanguageofbees #gowerlavender #westernmsilandecho #newspaper #pr #climatechange #devolution #womanswales #parthianbooks
Very exciting news! The language of bees is now available at the @nationaltrust shop at Rhossili, and hopefully at more National Trust shops soon 🎉🐝 #nationaltrust #poetry #rhossili #parthianbooks #thelanguageofbees #wboty23 #pollinators #poetsfortheplanet #ecopoetry #bees
Local book event alert! #swanseawriters #swanseaauthors #swanseapoets #welshwriters #welshauthors #welshpoets #wriringgroup #writinggroups #parthian #parthianbooks #covertocover #covertocoverbookshop
I’m very excited to have an essay in this wonderful new collection of women’s writing about Wales. It’s my first time publishing prose outside my usual specialist subject of local journalism, but I’ve really enjoyed writing about other topics that are very dear to my heart… bees, lavender, politics, activism and climate change. They even let me use a little bee as a section divider - too cute… Goes without saying that I’m in some awe-inspiring company here, and I’ve already galloped through the brilliant essays by @mariellisdunning @emschofield_ @growriter @krystalslowe and I’m looking forward to getting stuck into the one on broadcast journalism by Cerith Mathias next (can’t keep me away from journalism). Buy it! #womanswales #welshdevolution #parthianbooks #amwriting #thiscommonuncommon #naturewriting #climatechange
Editing fun, taking the whole book apart and putting it back together to fine tune the order. My favourite kind of jigsaw puzzle 🧩 #editing #poetry #thiscommonuncommon #parthianbooks #parthianpoetry #amwriting
Happy world poetry day! To celebrate we’re sharing a bee-autiful bee poem written by our founder, Rae, the perfect piece to see us into spring. The poem was inspired by a huge queen bumble bee emerging early from her winter hibernation into a Pilates class, tricked by the warmth and light of the school hall where we were exercising with @pilipala.life 🐝 It’s always lovely to see the bees emerge for real, and I’ve already seen a few intrepid ones in the garden, have you? A sure sign spring is on the way. By the way, if you’re a poetry lover (or a bee lover) Rae’s book, The language of bees, is available to buy on our website. If you’d like her to sign or dedicate it, just pop a message in the box at the checkout! 💜🌼 #bumblebees #poetry #worldpoetryday #gowerlavender #gower #lavender #spring #springisspringing #poem #beepoem #bees #parthianbooks #parthianpoetry #walesbookoftheyear #wboty23
I couldn't be more delighted to announce 'Local Fires' has been longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize, 2024! I am honoured to share a longlist with some personal heroes of mine, Thomas Morris and Catherine Lacey, as well as legends such as AK Blakemore, Eliza Clark, Michael Magee, and Mary Jean Chan. Also, am on a longlist with Kae Tempest?! Thank you to the team behind the prize, the readers and judges, and of course the @parthian_books team! 1 of 2 writers representing Wales, and 1 of 2 debuts on the list! I'm extremely made-up. Thank you everyone who's read or supported Local Fires so far 🔥🧡 #LocalFires #SUDTP24 #parthianbooks #llanelli #wales #welshwriting #dylanthomas #kaetempest #elizaclark #thomasmorris #akblakemore #maryjeanchan #catherinelacey #michaelmagee
AND IT’S HERE! I’m so so so excited to announce that my new book has just been made available to pre-order from the @parthian_books website! It’s a book about a very special piece of common land on Gower, which is under threat from development and which we are campaigning to save. I’ve spent months researching, writing, talking to amazing experts and passionate campaigners and learning about what an extraordinary - and uncommon - place it is. Can poetry change the world? I really hope so! Massive thanks to Parthian for seeing the magic and taking a punt on This Common Uncommon 🌿 #westcrosscommon #clynecommon #parthianbooks #parthianpoetry #preorder #activistpoetry #ecopoetry #climatepoetry #ecopoet #climatechange #forpeatssake #peat #wetheathland #poetry #purplemoorgrass #bog
As usual the common presented us with treasures today - devil’s bit scabious still in flower, wax cap mushrooms, beautiful sunshine and a wonderful group of campaigners telling its story. Tune in to the evening news on ITV Wales this evening to hear all about this threatened piece of common land, and you might even hear some poetry… #thiscommonuncommon #westcross #westcrosscommon #itvwales #parthianbooks #parthianpoetry
This Thursday @joshuajoneswrites @thesmallcitybookshop Posted @withregram • @joshuajoneswrites Excited for these upcoming events in November, including the publication and launch of Local Fires at @thesmallcitybookshop in Bristol! With events at @dyddiaudu in Cardiff, @peoplespeakup in my hometown, Llanelli, and @central_library_hub with @racheldawsonwrites! Cardiff & Llanelli events are free! Sign up for the Bristol event at the link in bio 👉👉👉 More events and news coming soon 😎 @parthian_books @britishcouncilwales @books.wales #cardiffwriter #cardiffwriting #bookstagram #cardiffbooks #dyddiaudu #parthian #parthianbooks #peoplespeakup #llanelli #bristol #bristolbooks #bristolbookshop
25/10/2023 Folkloric. Tampering. Veiled. 🪈🪨⚗️ ⭐️⭐️ ("The Shining Pyramid", 1895) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ("The Great God Pan", 1894) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ("The White People", 1904) Arthur Machen #arthurmachen #thegreatgodpan #thewhitepeople #theshiningpyramid #shortstories #parthianbooks #libraryofwales #welshliterature #horror #reading #book #bookstagram #universityreading #gothic #gothicliterature #uncanny #october #octoberreads #spookyreads #spookyseason
Excited for these upcoming events in November, including the publication and launch of Local Fires at @thesmallcitybookshop in Bristol! With events at @dyddiaudu in Cardiff, @peoplespeakup in my hometown, Llanelli, and @central_library_hub with @racheldawsonwrites! Cardiff & Llanelli events are free! Sign up for the Bristol event at the link in bio 👉👉👉 More events and news coming soon 😎 @parthian_books @britishcouncilwales @books.wales #cardiffwriter #cardiffwriting #bookstagram #cardiffbooks #dyddiaudu #parthian #parthianbooks #peoplespeakup #llanelli #bristol #bristolbooks #bristolbookshop
La traductora @Amaia_Gabantxo ha logrado este año el premio de #traducción que otorgan el #InstitutoEtxepare (@etxepareinst) y @LABORAL_Kutxa por su traducción al inglés de la #novela “Hezurren erretura” de #MirenAgurMeabe, que publicará la #editorial @Parthian_Books #AmaiaGabantxo #itzultzaileak irabazi du aurten #EtxepareInstitutua-k eta #LABORALKutxa-k ematen duten #itzulpen saria, “ #HezurrenErretura”ren ingelesezko itzulpenagatik. #ParthianBooks #argitaletxeak argitaratuko du Miren Agur Meaberen nobela ingelesez #Translator Amaia Gabantxo has won this year's #translation prize awarded by the #EtxepareInstitute and LABORAL Kutxa for her translation into English of the #novel "Hezurren erretura" by Miren Agur Meabe, to be published by Parthian Books
📣 🏴🏴🏴 A FEAST OF WELSH CULTURE 🏴🏴🏴📣 Please join us on Sunday October 22 at 2.30pm for a fascinating illustrated talk by two acclaimed scholars, art historian Peter Lord and music historian Rhian Davies. Peter and Rhian will draw on their brilliant new book, "The Art of Music: Branding the Welsh Nation" to explore how Welsh music and musicians have been portrayed in art, and how those portrayals have contributed to our understanding of Welsh identity in Britain and throughout the world. "The Art of Music" is published by @parthian_books We are very grateful to Parthian for their generous sponsorship of this special event.🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼📚📚📚 Peter Lord held fellowships at the Yale Centre for British Art (1994) and the Center for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies (1996-2003). He published and broadcast extensively on the art and visual culture of Wales, in both English and Welsh languages and has organized major exhibitions for national museums. Between 1998 and 2004, he authored the mighty three-volume "The Visual Culture of Wales", which is the go-to source on the topic. In 2013, Parthian Books published his autobiography, "Relationships with Picture", which was followed by "The Tradition: a New History of Welsh Art, 1400-1990", which was Wales Nonfiction Book of the Year" in 2017. Rhian Davies studied at Aberystwyth and Bangor Universities, and has held fellowships in the USA, at the Lilly Library at Indiana Library, the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas, Austin, and the National Library of Australia in Canberra. Her programming, publications and documentaries have restored several composers to the repertoire, and her pictorial biography of Morfydd Owen, "Never So Pure a Sight" continues to inspire performances worldwide, notably Nocturne for orchestra at the BBC Proms. Her pionerering work was recognised with an Honorary Fellowship from Bangor University in 2019. #knightonfestivalofbooksartandmusic2023 #peterlord #rhiandavies #parthianbooks #theartofmusic #theartofmusicbrandingthenation #brandingthenation #wales #welshmusic #welshart
Currently reading and thoroughly enjoying this proof copy of the new novel by Carly Holmes published by @gwasghonnopress I first read her in a Honno anthology (The Wish Dog) and then subsequently in her @tartaruspress collection, Figurehead (subsequently reprinted by @parthian_books) She writes a modern, gothic, weird fiction that is filled with a compulsive eerie disquiet. . . #carlyholmes #crowfacedollface #honno #parthianbooks #tartaruspress #sarban #mpshiel #rosalieparker #reggieoliver #weirdfiction #strangestories #gothic #gothicfiction #figurehead #wyrdbritain #wyrdbritainbooks #origamicrow
Moon jellyfish live a life adrift, relying on the current to take them where they need to go. They are the ultimate survivors and one of the most successful organisms of animal life. So how do they thrive in the open ocean when they can barely swim? Rooted in her island home of Anglesey, Ness Owen's second collection, "Moon Jellyfish can Barely Swim", explores what it is to subsist with whatever the tides bring in through poems that journey from family to politics, womanhood, and language. In the ebb and flow of an ever-changing world, starlings fall from the sky, votes are cast, a village is drowned, a petrified forest is revealed and messages wash up in seaworn bottles on the shoreline, waiting for answers that will not come. @nessynysmon will be reading from this remarkable new collection, which is published by @parthian_books at a special opening event featuring three women Welsh writers at the Knighton Festival on Friday 20 October from 2.00pm to 5.00pm. Ness lives on Ynys Mon (Anglesey) where she writes poetry between lecturing and farming. She has been widely published in journals and anthologies, including Planet Magazine, Mslexia, The Cardiff Review, The Interpreter's House, Ink, Sweat & Tears, the Atlanta Review, and Poetry Wales. Her first collection, "Mamiath" ("Mother Tongue") was published in 2019 by @arachnepress Tickets for this exciting afternoon event are £5.00, including a glass of wine. Booking in advance is recommended: https://knightonfestival.wales but tickets will also be available on the door. #nessowen #moonjellyfishcanbarelyswim #parthianbooks #knightonfestival @knightonfestivalofbooksarts&music2023 #knightonpowys #wales
I recently published an article through @wales_arts_review: 'Ghost Town of Mine: Reflections on Llanelli'. It chronicles memories of hauntings, the occupation of my hometown in my psyche, the problematic nature of nostalgia. This essay will be in a collection I'm currently working on, to be published by @parthian_books, date TBC. A few weeks ago, when visiting the town to take some promotional pictures for Local Fires, I stumbled across this replication of the infamous 'Cofiwch Dryweryn' sign. I had never seen it before, and it must have been pretty recent. Llanelli's flooding is metaphorical, but is devastated all the same. Still, a message of hope for our communities - fe godwn ni eto. We'll rise again. Link in bio to read the essay and pre-order Local Fires 🔥❤️
Have you read Whatever Happened to Rick Astley? When I got the opportunity to review this for Buzz Magazine, I just couldn’t resist. I mean, between the title, and the somewhat jarring fact that it’s a series of short stories about life in Zimbabwe and the associated diaspora… There’s only so much my curiosity can handle. Naturally, the short story called Whatever Happened to Rick Astley is the last in the collection and it wasn’t even my favourite story, but I’m grateful for it because it was clearly the hook I needed. The stories cover a time span of around 20 years, from the turbulent hyperinflation that started in the late nineties, to the modern day, where most people know of at least one person who has emigrated. Each story shows a snippet from the lives of a truly mixed bag of characters, but all of them in some way reflect the different, unequal ways people live in countries like Zimbabwe, where the impact of colonialism is felt long after independence. As a South African living in the UK, I drew a lot of parallels to my own ‘expat’ experience from the stories. My experience is, by and large, one experienced by a tiny percentage of South Africans - as is the case with a lot of these Zimbabwean stories. It is a real financial privilege to be able to pack up and move to another country. That said, I think there is something for everyone to relate to: from the people who get left behind to the people who regret leaving, from the people who should never have been there to the people being asked to leave despite never knowing anywhere else, from the people who want to leave but can’t to the people who would never consider leaving. These stories reflect the myriad of conflicting emotions associated with living in a country where simultaneously the majority live in poverty, while the others sit in their sprawling gardens and discuss their friends’ and children’s lives on other continents: hope, disappointment, loyalty, loneliness, insecurity, self-doubt, pride, and so much love. #HaveYouReadThis #WhateverHappenedToRickAstley #BryonyRheam #AfricanLiterature #ZimbabweanLiterature #ShortStories #BookReview #ParthianBooks #BuzzMagazine
Drawing from the Well takes us on a personal journey; a pilgrimage from west Wales to Wexford seeking a deeper understanding of ancestry, roots and inheritance. What is passed from generation to generation? A photo, a song. And what gets left behind or lost along the way? Rowan O’Neill travels with water collected from a well next to the Church where she was baptised, looking for a place to pour it, a place of connection and meaning. A reliable and clean source of water is essential for any community, so it is easy to understand how important wells were for pre-modern peoples. More complex is the mystical relationship humans have developed with these sites, which are imbued with a sacredness that predates Christianity. Holy Wells of Wexford and Pembrokeshire is a series of five chapbooks celebrating holy wells in two regions with common ancestry and history. Since at least the Bronze Age, sea travel between these two lands has meant cross fertilisation of traditions and common names associated with wells of both regions. Of significance is the long-standing friendship between two early Christian saints: David, who became the first Bishop of St Davids; and Aidan, born in Ireland, who spent time in Wales and then founded monasteries in Ireland, including at Ferns. In Oilgate, Wexford, there is a well dedicated to David and, at Whitesands near St Davids in Pembrokeshire, there is one named after Aidan. Each of the five books approaches the subject from different perspectives and mediums, including fiction, poetry and essays as well as photographs and prints. . . . Now available at The Library Project with free shipping on orders over €30 in Ireland! . . . #thelibraryproject #artbookshop #photoireland #irishbookshop #independentbookshop #contemporaryculture #ireland #templebar #booksofinstagram #bookshoplove #supportlocal #bookstores #bookstagram #bookworm #bookshopsoftheworld #booksofthemonth #drawingfromthewell #parthianbooks
On the sofa talking bees, lavender and eco poetry for SwanTV’s first episode of Off the Page, a brand new poetry talk show. Loved hearing about @smithmattpoet’s excellent campaign to return the bones of the Red Lady of Paviland to Swansea, and it was inspiring to hear @mikeyb6465 talk about his role in paediatric care in Sierra Leone and Liberia, and how he’s using poetry as a way to process the emotional rollercoaster of his work. Great hosting from @beckylowepoet too - make sure you check it out on the SwanTV YouTube channel 📺 #poetry #talkshow #youtube #youtubepoetry #parthianbooks
Really looking forward to this event next week! 🐎 Join us for an international evening of poetry exploring the beasts within and among us! I’ll be reading alongside Jodie Hollander, Luke Morgan and Emily Vanderploeg (@dippy_dumpling) and, together, we will invite you into the animal kingdom and encourage you to question your place within it. Watch out for salamanders, jellyfish, hummingbirds, horses and more. Metaphorical beasts will come lurking too - the family, the lovers, the self. This reading will blur the boundaries between human and creature. Hosted 'in-the-round' by these four poets, this evening will play with the idea of conjuring, evoking and remembering. What other beasts might emerge from the (poetic) woods? Sign up to find out! Link in bio 📚👆 Quick Dates / Details: When: Tuesday, June 25th from 7pm (BST - UK / Ireland) Where: Zoom Cost: Free or Pay-As-You-Feel #jodiehollander #christinathatcher #lukemorgan #emilyvanderploeg #parthianbooks #pavillionpoetry #arlenhouse #poeticbeasts
And we’re off! Wales Book of the Year awards here we come! Keep your fingers crossed for me 🤞🏻🐝🐝🐝 #wboty #wboty23 #parthianbooks #poetry #thelanguageofbees
I loved reading in the Poetry Showcase for Penarth Literary Festival on Sunday night. The audience were so welcoming and attentive and I’ve never had so many people telling me afterwards they liked my reading - I must be doing something right!! Wonderful poems by Tôpher Mills (red shoes) and Abigail Parry (furthest right) and music by Michael Munnik (hat) all introduced by Stephen Payne (next to Abigail). Big thank you to all @griffinbooksuk for organising and selling books. My heart is full! (📸 photo credit Elin from Griffin Books). . ID A line of performers holding up their books and smiling in front of a banner from Griffin Books. Michael the musician is holding a guitar and one of his CDs. . #penarthliteraryfestival #griffinbooks #griffinbooksuk #independentbookshop #penarth #poetryandmusic #poetryevent #josephinecorcoran #abigailparry #tophermills #michaelmunnik #stephenpaynepoet #parthianbooks #livecanonpoetry #livecanon #bloodaxebooks #happenstancepress
This Wednesday our guest speaker is short story and memoir writer Julie Ann Rees. Julie Ann holds an MA in creative writing from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David and is studying for a PhD at Swansea University. Her first book, a memoir entitled Paper Horses, was published by Black Bee Books in February 2022. She has also had stories published both online and in print with Parthian books, Sliced up Press, Black Shuck Books, Improbable Press, and Honno Press. Join us at 7 PM on Wednesday 7 June at the Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea University Singleton Campus, or on Zoom. If you would like to attend, email [email protected]. #swanseawriters #swanseaauthors #swanseapoets #welshwriters #welshauthors #welshpoets #writinggroup #writinggroups #julieannrees #blackbeebooks #parthianbooks #honnopress #sliceduppress #blackshuckbooks #improbablepress
An unbelievable honour for my little bee book 🥰🐝 I am beyond thrilled! #thelanguageofbees #literaturewales #parthianbooks #wboty #wboty23
Oh my goodness! Absolutely over the moon to announce that Rae’s book has been shortlisted for Wales Book of the Year in the poetry category! #wboty #walesbookoftheyear #thelanguageofbees #poetry #bees #gower #gowerlavender #beepoem #lavenderpoem #parthianbooks #literaturewales
Who is the bee lover in your life? We all know someone who's barmy about bees - in our house, it's me! 😊 - and this limited edition gift set is the perfect bee-tastic present 🐝 You get a jar of yummy locally-produced honey, a honey dipper, some beeswax melts, a bee decoration, a bar of our bee-friendly lavender soap, and a signed book of bee poetry, all packaged up in an eco-friendly box. And of course 10% of your gift goes to help the @bumblebeeconservationtrust this month too! So - who will you buy one for? Tell us in the comments who would love one! @beeswaxmeltsuk @parthian_books @littlewalterstonefarm #maybirthday #beegifts #beefriendly #gowerlavender #gower #buylocal #ecogift #wearegower #beekind #beeswaxmelts #bumblebeeconservationtrust #lavender ' #littlewalterstonefarm #parthianbooks
Thank you to the brilliant John Sam Jones for visiting us in Swansea. Pop into your local library to borrow or reserve a copy of John’s award winning book The Journey is Home. @enjoyswansea @parthian_books #JohnSamJones #Parthianbooks #TheJourneyIsHome 📷John Sam Jones
Diolch i'r awdur gwych John Sam Jones am ymweld â ni yn Abertawe Galwch heibio'ch llyfrgell leol i fenthyca neu gadw copi o lyfr arobryn John, The Journey is Home. @joioabertawe @parthian_books @librarieswales #JohnSamJones #TheJourneyIsHome #ParthianBooks 📷John Sam Jones
All set to read at the Wales Poetry Award ceremony! Please keep your fingers crossed for me! 🤞🏻🤞🏻 #walespoetryaward #poetrywales #parthianbooks #poetry #poemsaboutarchaeology
TODAY! An evening with John Sam Jones. Author of the brilliant The Journey is Home published by @Parthian_books Tuesday 9th May 4.45-5.30pm Welsh Language 5.45-6.30pm English Language Swansea Central Library @parthian_books @swanseareviewonline https://tocyn.cymru/event/4697bbca-76c4-438b-a607-07f54c5e355c/s 📷John Sam Jones, The Journey is home, Y Daith ydi adra #JohnSamJones #ParthianBooks #TheJourneyIsHome #Authortalk #Library
Signed copies of my books are available to buy via @gowerlavender all this month, with 10% of sales going to @bumblebeeconservationtrust A lovely gift, if you know any bee lovers! (Or for yourself!) 🐝 #thelanguageofbees #gowerlavender #gower #bumblebees #bumblebeeconservationtrust #poetry #parthianbooks
If you love bees like we do, then we hope you’ll love this book, a series of poems in honour of our natural world and especially our beautiful bumble bees. We’re celebrating World Bee Day on 20th May, and this would make a wonderful companion to the day, or a gift for the bee lover in your life. You can get a signed copy on our website, and Rae will dedicate it for you if you let us know who you’re buying it for. Don’t forget 10% of all sales on our website this month will go straight to @bumblebeeconservationtrust #thelanguageofbees #gowerlavender #gower #bumblebees #bumblebeeconservationtrust #poetry #parthianbooks
I’m beyond thrilled to have made the Wales Poetry Award shortlist! 🥳 And what a shortlist it is! Hope to see you at the prize giving on 12 May, to hear the poems out loud and find out who the winners are 🤩 #walespoetryaward #poetrywales #serenbooks #parthianbooks #poetry
‘This poem won’t tell / you that in this life, there’s / no more of a sure thing’ — Ness Owen (@nessynysmon) #mypoetrybookshelf #moonjellyfishcanbarelyswim #nessowen #parthianbooks
‘At Limeslade, the first stone dropped / into the rock pool makes a musical note.’ — Rae Howells (@poet_rae) #mypoetrybookshelf #thelanguageofbees #raehowells #parthianbooks
Had a fab time reading at Cerddi Yn Cwrw on Monday, in association with PEN Cymru. An absolute treasure house of poetry and poets, including the wonderful Menna Elfyn, and my good pal @dippy_dumpling Big thanks to Dominic Williams and all the regulars for making us so welcome! And… I even got to graffiti the legendary wall! (Chose a purple square, natch) Can you see any names you recognise??? 👀 #thelanguageofbees #parthianbooks #cerddiyncwrw #carmarthen #cwrwbar #gowerlavender #graffiti
An evening with John Sam Jones. Author of the brilliant The Journey is Home published by @Parthian_books Tuesday 9th May 4.45-5.30pm Welsh Language 5.45-6.30pm English Language Swansea Central Library Booking is essential. 01792 636464 https://tocyn.cymru/event/4697bbca-76c4-438b-a607-07f54c5e355c/s 📷John Sam Jones, The Journey is home, Y Daith ydi adra #JohnSamJones #ParthianBooks #TheJourneyIsHome #Authortalk #Library
📢The RSL Ondaatje Prize longlist is here! £10,000 will go to an outstanding work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry that best evokes the spirit of a place. 👏 Huge congratulations to the nine longlisted titles that have been chosen by our 2023 judges Samira Ahmed, @rogerrobinsononline and @jtaylortrash 🌟’Heritage Aesthetics’ by Anthony Anaxagorou @anthony_anaxagorou @grantabooks 🌟’Scary Monsters’ by Michelle de Kretser @atlanticbooks 🌟’All Down Darkness Wide’ by Seán Hewitt @seanehewitt @jonathancapebooks @vintagebooks 🌟’The Half-life of Snails’ by Philippa Holloway @thejackdawspen @parthian_books 🌟’The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida’ by Shehan Karunatilaka @shehankarubooks @Sortofbooks 🌟’England's Green’ by Zaffar Kunial @ZaffarKunial @faberbooks 🌟’The Social Distance Between Us: How Remote Politics Wrecked Britain’ by Darren McGarvey @darren_mcgarvey @eburybooks 🌟’Black Butterflies’ by Priscilla Morris @priscillamorriswriter @duck_books 🌟’A Sin of Omission’ by Marguerite Poland Envelope Books #LiteraryPrize #LiteraryAward #RSLOndaatjePrize #OndaatjePrize2023 #RSL #LiteraryLonglist #Longlist #LonglistedBooks #FaberBooks #AtlanticBooks #EburyBooks #VintageBooks #GrantaBooks #ParthianBooks #DuckBooks #EnvelopeBooks #BookLonglist #FictionBooks #NonFictionBooks #PoetryBooks #PoetryCollection #NextRead #Bookstagram #Booktok #BookNews #SupportForWriters #WritingPrize #Writing
The Lake by Bianca Bellová translated by Alex Zucker. The story about a boy growing up on the shore of a lake. The lake is an ecological disaster but appears like a character in the book, sometimes kind, sometimes cruel. This book is about the journey of Nami as he grows up. It has the feeling of a fairytale. It's about how to find our home we have to move away from it first. Another great book from the excellent Welsh publishers @parthian_books #goodbooks #goodreads #books #booksofinstagram #biancabellová #booksintranslation #translatorsonthecover #alexzucker #parthianbooks #fiction #europeanliterature #czech #czechbooks #czechia🇨🇿 #Europe
The Lake by Bianca Bellová translated by Alex Zucker. The story about a boy growing up on the shore of a lake. The lake is an ecological disaster but appears like a character in the book, sometimes kind, sometimes cruel. This book is about the journey of Nami as he grows up. It has the feeling of a fairytale. It's about how to find our home we have to move away from it first. Another great book from the excellent Welsh publishers @parthian_books #goodbooks #goodreads #books #booksofinstagram #biancabellová #booksintranslation #translatorsonthecover #alexzucker #parthianbooks #fiction #europeanliterature #czech #czechbooks #czechia🇨🇿 #Europe
So excited! My bees have been spotted in the wild! 🐝 Thanks to my lovely friends Sally and Gareth for sending me a photo of the beautiful bee-themed window at @pickeringbooktree, featuring The Language of Bees!! What a bee-autiful window! I am married to a Yorkshireman and there are a few poems in there either about or inspired by our regular visits up north, so it’s absolutely lush to see it in pride of place in a Yorkshire bookshop window 🥰 Also lovely to see it in such great company, with so many bee books that I either own or wish I did 🐝🥰 #parthianbooks #pickeringbooktree #thelanguageofbees #carolannduffy #beebible #bookofbees #bees #beebooks #poetry #booksinthewild
Out today!! A new edition of the wonderful Ironopolis. A fantastic book that is not to be missed! We are celebrating the new edition with an interview with the wonderful author, Glen James Brown. Check out our blog page to hear what Glen has been up to since Ironopolis was first published. https://www.parthianbooks.com/blogs/news/ironopolis-celebrates-its-fifth-year-with-a-new-edition-out-this-month #newrelease #books #writingcommunity #writingcommunityofinstagram #authors #Parthianbooks #Ironopolis
-- Every 2 weeks, we choose a poem from a book in our library as Dyddiau Du's Featured Poem -- This week’s Featured Poem is 'At the UKVI Office'by Christina Thatcher! (@writetoempower) ‘Maybe I have been reading too much news lately, but reading Christina Thatcher’s BEAUtiful collection over the weekend, I was caught by the relevance of this succinct poem. The bureaucratic boredom is lifted into strange wonder. The symbolism of cut tethers and eroding shoreline, gave me a refreshing breeze of much needed nuance to a topic that is so often debated in monochrome. Thatcher asks the reader to move out of the black and white, to bob on the sea of no definite answer. And ultimately, to stand with others.’ — @rhys_shanahan How to Carry Fire is available from @parthian_books, and also our library!
It’s World Poetry Day so no excuses, get yourself cwtched up somewhere warm with a glass of something lovely and read yourself some verses. Here are some of the absolute corkers on my recents/ next-ups list as inspo. 100 Poems is a treasure trove of nature and eco poetry that I often turn to when I’m feeling the climate feels (IPCC report anyone? 😭🤯). Strange Animals is a very well-loved volume in my collection, full of strange animals as advertised, but also an abandoned Battenberg cake, which is possibly my favourite detail in my pal @dippy_dumpling’s collection, if not all of poetry. I read C+nto for book club and it absolutely blew me away with its language and imagery, as well as its powerful insights into a hidden subculture. Well-deserved winner of last year’s TS Eliot prize. Can’t wait to get into the other two recently acquired treasures by @smithmattpoet and @nessynysmon. I know they’re going to be 🔥 #worldpoetryday #parthianbooks #serenbooks #tseliotpoetry #brokenspine #poetry #amreading
Spring flowers, breakfast in bed and home made love hearts 🥰 What a lovely morning I’ve had! There was a time when I thought I might not get to be a mother, so days like today are especially precious. I have written a lot about miscarriage over the years, and I know so many women carry that pain with them every day and I hope today isn’t too hard for you. Of course I think about my lost ones on days like this. I’m thankful to be a mum of two daughters now. It’s a privilege seeing them grow into beautiful young women. So here are some lines from one of my poems from Bloom & Bones, about how even though we carry our history with us, it’s good to appreciate the cherry blossom when it comes. //You turn up your faces to blossom, and I see them,/ the women in you, the leggy girls,/ your laughing, easy fierceness, the ammonite curls of your shoulder blades/ jostling out - the living bloom and bones of you./ You reach for cherries as petals drop around your shoulders,/ pale, gorgeously silting up your fossil bucket.// #mothersday #poetry #miscarriage #daughters #hedgehogpoetrypress #parthianbooks
New editions of four of my novels! Novas edições de 4 romances meus! The Seventh Gate, Hunting Midnight, Guardian of the Dawn and The Search for Sana. . . #parthianbooks #richardzimler
🌼 Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus 🌼 Happy St David’s Day 🌼 Any excuse to celebrate Welsh authors! Here’s a mix of English and Welsh language books. 🌼The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones 🌼What a Shame by Abigail Bergstrom 🌼Haf o Hyder (Lolfa) 🌼Perthyn gan Sian Northey 🌼Adref (Cara) 🌼Fannie by Rebecca F. John 🌼Jill by Amy Dillwyn 🌼The Welsh Fairy Book by W. Jenkyn Thomas 🌼Fresh Apples by Rachel Trezise 🌼The Arden Bridge by Ellie Rees 🌼Queer Square Mile (Parthian) I love finding new Welsh authors and celebrating them. Hope you’re all having a lush day eating Welsh cakes 🌼 • • • • #Books #InstaBooks #Bookstagram #BookLover #Bookstagrammer #InstaReads #Book #InstaBooks #CurrentlyReading #ILoveToRead #Reading #SwanseaBookstagrammers #Abertawe #Swansea #WelshAuthors #RebeccaFJohn #AbigailBergstrom #EmilyLloydJones #AmyDillwyn #RachelTrezise #SianNorthey #EllieRees #QueerSquareMile #ParthianBooks
Last night I shared a stage with Gillian Clark, Jonathan Edwards, Rhian Edwards, Natalie Ann Holborow and Rebecca Lowe. Somebody pinch me. Photo credit: Susie Wild #poetry #poetryreading #parthianbooks #thelanguageofbees
Zoom face! And my first event of 2023 is in the bag… talking about the essential role of arts and creativity in the well-being economy for Wellbeing Alliance Cymru. Unleashed some bees on the conversation of course… 🐝 #wellbeingalliance #futuregenerations #poetry #parthianbooks #thelanguageofbees #climatechange #biodiversity #naturecrisis #bees
Llyfrau wedi'i arwyddo. <3 Signed Copies ❤ How (not) to Do It All by Dr Emma Short is a fantastic guide for anyone hoping to improve their well-being in the coming new year. Make your first new years resolution this - read this book!! This is a simple but comprehensive approach to leading a healthier and calmer life. There are plenty of publications and advice about how to achieve that perfect (but allusive) work life balance, there is very little that addresses WHY we take on too much in the first place. Dr Emma Short helps us look at the reasons why we overcommit in the first place and then helps us explore strategies to overcome this. Dr Emma Short is a Consultant NHS doctor. She studied pre-clinical medicine at Cambridge and clinical medicine at Oxford. Emma also has a PhD from Cardiff university in cancer genetics and is a health and fitness writer. We have a SMALL NUMBER of signed copies available at £9.99. How (not) to Do It is published in paperback by Parthian books #parthianbooks #dremmashort #hownottodoitall #worklifebalance #signedcopies #welshauthor #awdurescymraeg #signedcopy #christmasbooks #oxygenmask #perspective #resolutions
Prendas de Natal ou de Hanuká... Christmas or Hanukkah presents... (Hope there is a generous Santa Claus in your life. Espero que tenha um generoso Pai Natal na sua vida) Bom fim de semana a todos! Have a great weekend! . #portoeditora #parthianbooks #richardzimler
Give a poetry book this Christmas! I have copies of The language of bees, Candlestick’s beautiful 2023 Almanac and mine and Jean’s pamphlet Bloom & Bones available alone or in a bundle, with bookmarks and Christmas twine and even a dedication if you want one! I’ve also put together a Bee Lover’s Gift Box that includes local honey, bee-friendly soap and beeswax melts, for sale on the @gowerlavender website. Prices: The language of bees £9 Bloom & Bones £7 Almanac 2023 £5.95 All three £20 Bee Lover’s box £30 Drop me a message to buy 💌 #poetry #poetrygifts #giftsforpoetrylovers #giftsforpoets #giftsforbeelovers #bees #thelanguageofbees #bloomandbones #candlestickpress #almanac #poetryalmanac #parthianbooks #hedgehogpress
‘There is no sleep here, where women shuffle, barefoot.’ — Mari Ellis Dunning #mypoetrybookshelf #mariellisdunning #pearlandbone #parthianbooks
Wowww we had such an amazing time at our launch weekend!! We have so many people to thank!! Thank you @spafcollective for making us DD badges, for running a stall AND for hosting a badge-making workshop! You must be tired boys!! Thank you @lucentdreaming and @jannatexists for the Q&A, and incredible readings from @tayloredmonds, @durre_s, @dukealdurham, @caitinajones and Mollie Russell. Thank you @l.j.bell & @renwolfe.studio for your fantastic Sunday workshops! They were so much fun! Thank you to all of our stallholders - @nikroche11, @judewallphotography, @mabjones, @infinitybooksuk, @blackrabpress, @parthian_books, @serenbooks, @yellowbackbooks, @thepaperwales. Thank you to our volunteers!! @bethh_art, @isabellacolbybrowne, @anarcho_mess. You guys are brill. Thank you to everyone who came, bought books, donated money, performed on the open mic, submitted fipms for the screening etc. Without you, DD would be nothing. Thank you to all the people who have and continue to donate books and furniture! (Keep it coming!!) BIG thank you to @cardiffumbrella and @shiftcardiff, who helped us with their wisdom, advise, and helping put together the space. Thank you thank you thank you !
. . .”I thought I would never leave Ukraine, I would stay in Donetsk my whole life and wait for your return. . . Just think, I now live on an island, wherever I look I see the sea, though for now I see it only through the windows of our house. . .The house is also like the one in the postcard your father brought you, white, two-story, the window frames are blue, and in front of the door there’s a lemon tree.” Oksana tells us her story, which starts out full of hope. She is from Ukraine and has come to a remote island off the coast of Crete with other friends to recover from radiation sickness after the Chernobyl disaster. Her story is interwoven with the story told by Penelope, a Greek woman who was brought to the island (perhaps “abducted” would be a better word) at the age of sixteen, forced to marry an islander. In alternating texts, the two women reveal the reality of what at first might seem an idyllic setting. In time, the blue of the window frames has faded away and the lemon tree is old and withered, and the reality of life on the island is revealed. Both of the women are imprisoned in their own destinies, exiled — a fate that they share with other women on the island: Stella, who is considered insane, and the twins, Aliki and Kiki, who have a powerful story all their own. The local people have made up tales of their own about these women, based on superstition and spite and mistrust. Who are the “Barbarians” from the title, the islanders or the foreigners? The title was inspired by a Cavafy poem, “Waiting for the Barbarians,” that illustrates how useful and misused the idea of The Other can be, something we know all too well in our society. This compelling novel by Macedonian author, Petar Andonovski, is absolutely riveting. It is the winner of the EU Prize for Literature. The language, translated into English by Christina E. Kramer, is beautiful and poetic, but it is a dark novel, necessarily so, because it shows the plight of so many powerless women all over the world. I am so grateful to @georgbojan for sending this to me as my first introduction to this author. Thank you! I can’t wait to read more books from @andonovski_petar.
Spisovatelka Bianca Bellová dnes večer v České škole T. G. Masaryka ✍🏻️📚🌊 #thelake #biancabellová #czechliterature #booktalk #jezero #oneczechwordaday #magnesialitera #euprizeforliterature #parthianbooks
Cwtchy 💜 Credit @dippy_dumpling #authorpic #bigpurplejumper #books #thelanguageofbees #parthianbooks
The Night Circus - Uršuľa Kovalyk This book is filled with tales of various women experiencing otherworldly situations. One woman leaves her house on a rainy day and finds a tiny man in her backyard. An apathetic housewife opens her bathroom door and is greeted by an entire rainforest where her toilet is supposed to be. A helpless girl grows up being controlled by her red shoes, as they take her down dark and progressively dangerous paths. A depressed young woman discovers the thrill of danger at a mysterious circus. And an elderly lover of Elvis Presley carefully nurtures an apricot tree that bears fruit that turns back the biological clock. The theme that ties these stories together is a common, simple one: the expectation society places on women. Since societal norms have traditionally been formed around the wishes of men, you might get the sense that this is a highly rebellious book. In a way, it is. But this isn’t just another short story collection about the suffering of women at the hands of men. It explores girlhood, old age, and everything in between. Each story is a double-layered experience, consisting of an enchanting surreal fairytale and a thematic base layer that supports the dreamy allegory on the surface. Nothing is explicitly stated. Instead, Kovalyk takes the reader on multiple adventures through the lives of women who are suffering, oppressed, or devoid of a sense of self. Nothing I say will be able to give Kovalyk the proper praise for her complex exploration of the feminine mind. Some of the stories in this collection are just three or four pages long. Yet, I was able to clearly experience the emotions of these characters. Their trauma is my trauma. Their fears are my fears. This is exactly why women’s fiction is so important. Also, as a side note: Uršuľa Kovalyk is from Slovakia, a country with a highly complicated political history. It’s nice that more Eastern European works are being translated into English so that they can be enjoyed worldwide. “The Night Circus” is part of the @parthian_books Europa Carnivale series that focuses on European women writers. If you’re interested, you should go browse the selection. :)
I started this yesterday; I think it must be the first piece of fiction I’ve read translated from Basque. It’s very direct, and arresting. Think me and this narrator might get on. Book + several layers and blankets was needed (it really, definitely is autumn now, and no going back 🍂) A Glass Eye by Miren Agur Meabe, tr. Amaia Gabantxo, pub @parthian_books #currentread #mirenagurmeabe #parthianbooks #translatedfiction #translatedliterature #womenintranslation #bookstagram #amreading
On Monday the 10th of October we were pleased to collaborate with the Czech Literary Centre, Karolinum Press, and Parthian Books to host a book launch for Alex Zucker’s new English translation of “The Lake” by Bianca Bellová. The evening featured a reading by both Bianca and Alex with moderation by journalist Ian Willoughby of Radio Prague International. The Lake (Parthian Books) is the coming-of-age tale of an orphan named Nami, growing up in a fishing village somewhere in the former Soviet empire. When Nami crosses the lake to the city in search of his mother, he encounters a society on the verge of collapse. Bellová makes dexterous use of symbolism throughout this tightly knit narrative, leaving a lasting impact on the reader’s mind. We have two copies available for check out for those curious to take the book home with them! Photo credit: Kyle Herda (@herda.photo) 📚 📚 📚 #aaulibrary #aauprage #loveaau #aaucommunity #prague #library #librarylove #university #universitylibrary #books #booklaunch #biancabellova #alexzucker #karolinumpress #parthianbooks #thelake #czechlit
On Monday the 10th of October we were pleased to collaborate with the Czech Literary Centre, Karolinum Press, and Parthian Books to host a book launch for Alex Zucker’s new English translation of “The Lake” by Bianca Bellová. The evening featured a reading by both Bianca and Alex with moderation by journalist Ian Willoughby of Radio Prague International. The Lake (Parthian Books) is the coming-of-age tale of an orphan named Nami, growing up in a fishing village somewhere in the former Soviet empire. When Nami crosses the lake to the city in search of his mother, he encounters a society on the verge of collapse. Bellová makes dexterous use of symbolism throughout this tightly knit narrative, leaving a lasting impact on the reader’s mind. We have two copies available for check out for those curious to take the book home with them! Photo credit: Kyle Herda (@herda.photo) 📚 📚 📚 #aaulibrary #aauprage #loveaau #aaucommunity #prague #library #librarylove #university #universitylibrary #books #booklaunch #biancabellova #alexzucker #karolinumpress #parthianbooks #thelake #czechlit