Calder Wood PressNew and Recent Books
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Lyn Moir - Easterly, Force 10 ISBN: 978-1-902629-26-1 £4.50 + 50p P&P Published October 2009 - See Sales page |
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Kevin Cadwallender - Dog Latin 32pp ISBN: 978-1-902629-16-2 £4.50 +50p postage Published October 2009
See Sales page |
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Gerald Urwin Published 22nd September 2009 ISBN: 978-1-902629-25-4 28pp £3 + 50p postage |
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David C Purdie:
Launched June 24th 2009 52pp £5 + £1.00 p&p Available now. See Sales page
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David’s long-awaited version of the ancient epic poem, whose origins lie so far in the past that there is still uncertainty over the century of its first transcription, is launched by Calder Wood Press on Wednesday 24 th June. David is well-known, having won many prizes and awards over the years. This book will, in my view, reinforce his standing as one of Scotland’s finest poets writing in Scots. By no means a word-for-word translation from the Old Welsh, this version re-tells the old story in vivid poetry. It’s a tremendous achievement, and Calder Wood Press is proud to publish it. |
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Mary Johnston:
Launched June 26th 2009 £4 + 50p p&p, including a CD of Mary reading the poems. Available now. See Sales page |
| Mary writes with warmth and wit in the Doric about family, growing up in Aberdeenshire, and many other subjects. It comes with a CD of Mary reading the poems. Mary’s last book, Ring O Sangs, was joint runner-up in the Callum Macdonald Memorial Award in May 2009. |  |
Lillias Forbes: A Hesitant Opening of Parasols iv, 36pp, £3 +50p postage Now available - see Sales page |
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 Photo courtesy Flora Selwyn and St Andrews in Focus |
Younger daughter of Scots composer F G Scott, Lillias Forbes commenced writing verses at an early age, being by eleven years already influenced by contact with Scots verse as she heard it by way of her father’s settings. The family home was to become rendez-vous for a welter of aspiring artists – MacDiarmid, George Campbell Hay, W S Graham, Dylan Thomas, Edwin and Willa Muir: to name but a few. The late highly esteemed Duncan Glen found her poetic output to be “revealing a recognisable and individual voice”, while MacDiarmid considered her work “an utterance uncontaminated by merely literary fashions – all this amounts to is simply integrity.” Norman MacCaig also knew Lillias Forbes’ output, praising “her richness and variety of language and rhythms. And there is wit here, too.” Lillias says that she is a little taken aback at finding that her muse has not fled away entirely “at my advanced age.” I am delighted that this is the case, and honoured to make available to a wider public a selection of poems which conclusively prove it to be true. Colin Will |
Irene Brown: Glass Slippers iv, 24pp, £4.50 + 50p postage Now available - see Sales page |
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Irene Brown writes in Scots and English and has been widely published. She is well known in Edinburgh for her lively readings of her poetry. This is her first collection. Her themes are the wonderful moments of life that arrive through friendship and love, through childhood and its memories, through travel abroad and through the sights and sounds of nature. She observes well - be it staircleaning or an old mildewed cookbook. There are intriguing miniatures of activity as in the Threepenny Waltz . Indeed dancing is an important image in this collection reflecting Brown’s vital engagement with the joy of the everyday. This is however balanced with a mature tristesse as in La Cour des Femmes where the courtyard cobbles speak of the human tragedy of Revolution ‘the sound of tumbrel wheels... carrying each shorn batch....’ Particularly appealing also is her tender cradling within some poems of lost female selves - such as the bride or the young woman. Ultimately though her poetry is about faith in folk and in the future. Optimistic, confident and sparky Glass Slippers will delight especially with its evocations of places abroad and the glorious humour of poems such as Dennistoun Baths in Brown’s native Glasgow . Maureen Sangster |
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Donald McKinney: Why we howl at the Moon: Stories for the 21st century. Publication: 28 October 2008 Special web price £5.99 + £1.50 postage 148pp, ISBN: 978-1-902629-17-9 Come walk between the worlds. Meet faeries and vampires; spirits and werewolves. Walk where Gods ride the winds and selkies roam the sea. Donald McKinney, in his first collection of short stories, reveals the magic that is all around us. He shows us the worlds that we only see from the corner of our eye, or dream of on a stormy night. From inner emotions to the walking dead, he challenges us to believe. He dares us to join him in his land of mystery and imagination. He challenges us to walk through the darkened forest and howl at the moon. |
Donald McKinney is the convener of the Celtic Circle, one of the largest global Celtic communities. He is the author of Walking the Mist: A Practical Guide to Celtic Spirituality , Celtic Angels and Anam Cara Wisdom . He lives with his partner and they split their time between Caithness and East Lothian. He is a partner in Body and Soul, Scotland's foremost New Age business. www.bodyandsoulevents.com |
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AVAILABLELove Affair With Mussels Published November 14th 2008 32pp, ISBN 978-1-902629-19-3 £4.50 plus 50p post & packing
Catriona's poem Counting, from this collection, was chosen as the Scottish Arts Council's Poem of the Month for January 2009. |
Because her parents happened to be there at the time, Catriona Malan was born in Dartmouth, Devon. However, apart from her first few months, she has spent the rest of her life in Scotland, close to Loch Lomond. Joining her local writers’ group gave her the stimulus to write both prose and poetry. She has been published in Lines Review, Chapman, and in several anthologies. She has won several competitions run by the Scottish Association of Writers, and she has served as the President of the Helensburgh Writers’ Workshop. |
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Jayne Wilding Publication date 1st December 2008 28pp, ISBN 978-1-902629-18-6 £4.50 plus 50p post and packing This pamphlet was joint runner-up in the Callum Macdonald Memorial Award for pamphlets published in 2008, presented on May 29th 2009. |
Jayne Wilding was born in Stafford in 1962. She has been living in Scotland since 1969 apart from sojourns in Brazil and France. She now lives and writes in the East Neuk in Fife, Scotland. She is a freelance writer and researcher. sky blue notebook from the Pyrenees draws on the experience of living in the foothills of the French Pyrenees for three years. Poems have recently been published in a garland (island, 2008), Ten Seasons (Scottish Poetry Library in association with Luath Press, 2007) and Luckenbooth an Anthology of Edinburgh Poetry (Polygon in association with Scottish Poetry Library, 2007). Her collection In the Moon’s Pantry was published by diehard Publications 2004. In 1998 Jayne began running writing workshops, particularly in areas relating to health and wellbeing. She currently runs Expressive Creative Writing groups for Maggie’s Centre. |
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978-1-902629-13-2 Published 2008 32pp £4.50 plus 50p post & packing
Anna Dickie lives in Haddington.
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Anna Dickie is a keen observer of nature as well as the landscape of the heart with its range of emotions. There are poems of tenderness and sorrow, witty and playful at times, leading the reader in unexpected directions, whether she’s dead-heading roses, exploring Prague or waiting to be seen at hospital. Her language is both succinct and sensuous, wise and joyful, still life – still love. Lines linger to be savoured, Few can pick the lock of a city not their own. (Prague Spring). This is a fine selection with a variety of subject matter to interest many readers. Judi Benson |
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David C Purdie writes in both English and Scots and has been widely published over the years. This is his first collection of poetry, long overdue, in my opinion. His experience of life as a joiner, an insurance agent, Kevock Choir member, family man and proud grandparent, inform his work. He has an unerring eye for spotting the potential for a poem in the ordinary and the extraordinary, tackling subjects as diverse as the building trade, war, Midlothian and the streets of Auld Reekie. A wry sense of humour is evident in many of his pieces. Anyone who has worked under instruction from a journeyman will immediately recognise Big Dod in Levelling Joists, a fine example of the poet’s pen portraits. His images spring from many sources. The Daith Tree – with its arresting opening line, Jesus wis a jyner – lang, lang syne, is one of the most powerful and has been read from quite a few pulpits. For all those who love poetry, here is a selection from a fine makar. A highly accomplished collection with hopefully more to follow. Lydia Robb |
Published 2008 ISBN: 978-1-902629-15-5 40pp, weight 136g £5 plus 75p post & packing Cover design by Randall Stephen Hall (www.earthnativeart.co.uk) |
David C Purdie as an apprentice joiner |
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ISBN: 978-1-902629-12-4 Published in 2007, this chapbook was an instant success. The first print run was sold out old soon after her launch. Reprinted in 2008. £4 plus 50p post & packing
Living in Dunbar, Jo Gibson is a poet who will be new to many readers. She is a poet of subtlety and passion, with a unique voice. These poems follow the twists and turns of love with great skill.
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Kennt His Faither: Stories by ISBN: 978-1-902629-09-4 Price £3 including CD Forewird by Sheena Blackhall Cover drawing by Rosaly Johnston
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| These stories, written in the Doric, are on Biblical themes. Mary is well-known as a poet (Teuchat Storm, Smaa Spangs). Here she shows her skills as a storyteller. The accompanying CD features Mary reading the stories. The booklet contains a Doric glossary. | |
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Sushi & Chips was published by diehard publishers in 2006. It's still available from diehard by post, but I'm also selling copies through this website at the special web price of £4 + £1 p&p. Go to the Sales page to order. |
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