The Ambulance Box
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I know, I know – I haven’t said anything about how well the recent(ish) readings went. (Very well indeed, thanks.) I’ve been busy with family, writing and sending out poems (a rejection – the third out of the four submissions I’ve sent this year so far – arrived this afternoon and I’m actively planning more
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I missed it until alerted through Facebook today but, yesterday, The North End of the Possible was reviewed in The Independent alongside Helen Mort’s debut collection, Jean Sprackland’s new book and books by Christopher Meredith and Tara Bergin plus a Salt pamphlet by Edward Mackay. The comment on my book is brief but favourable. I
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I was shocked and saddened, like the Scottish literary world in general, to learn back in February that Gavin Wallace, the head of literature at Creative Scotland, had died. I didn’t know Gavin well, but I can say with certainty that The North End of the Possible would not be the book it is without the
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Poet and fiction writer Emma Lee tagged me in this internet meme. I’m answering about The North End of the Possible, as it is certainly the next big thing in my writing life! Where did the idea come from for the book? As I think is common with many poetry collections, the idea grew out
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I wish you all the blessings of the Easter season — and none of the abdominal complaints that may accompany it! As has become all too customary on this blog, I also apologise for my absence. After celebrating being back in the saddle, I was knocked out of commission by a bout of tonsillitis, which
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Russell Jones, well known to those of us on the Edinburgh poetry scene, has reviewed The Ambulance Box on his blog. It’s a balanced, insightful review, with some really interesting things to say about, for instance, the role of the land in the book’s poems. I take on board the following criticism: the formal structure
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I’ve just seen that the latest Magma e-newsletter includes a rather lovely mention of The Ambulance Box in Jacqueline Saphra’s article on catharsis in poetry. She says: There are countless poems or collections that successfully achieve the cathartic effect — for me at least — so I thought I’d do a whistle-stop tour of just
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When I was a kid I wanted to grow up to be… I think I wanted to either be a poet, a priest, or a pianist. I decided by being a songwriter I could be all three at once. When I got serious about songwriting, it was the first time in my life that I
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I can tell you there was none more surprised than I to find this afternoon that The Ambulance Box is not only still in Salt’s current Top 10 bestsellers but has bounced merrily into the top 5 at number 3, coming up just behind Philip Gross’s children’s poetry book, Off Road to Everywhere. In the
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So far, The Ambulance Box is available only in hard copy. However, I have been working on an audio book for the still rather bare Salt audio books site, of which more in due course. Also, Amazon.co.uk has now made it possible to request that the collection be made availble for its Kindle e-book reader by
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I wasn’t even aware that the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry had established a prize for first collections until I logged on to Facebook and saw from a post by fellow Salt poet and blogger Tony Williams that I’d been shortlisted! What’s more, there are two other Salt books on the list — Anne Berkeley‘s
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Michelle McGrane has been generous enough to offer to post a couple of poems from The Ambulance Box on her blog Peony Moon. You can now read “The Invention of Zero” and “Lullaby” on there, along with blurby bits and a short bio. Many thanks, Michelle! It’s turned into quite an encouraging week on the
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At last I’m able to unzip my lips and announce that The Ambulance Box has been shortlisted for the first book category in the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards 2010! I’ve had to sit on the news for about a fortnight until the Scottish Arts Council, which administers the prize, made it public. I
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Hard to believe The Ambulance Box was officially published a year ago today. A lot has happened in that time, personally and professionally. I’ve met some great people virtually and face to face, outsold Keats, been shortlisted for a significant poetry book prize, reviewed here and there and delighted to have seen the collection chosen
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And to prove it, here they are: Are they no bonnie? I like ’em every bit as much as the hardbacks. Chris and Jen do a great job on their books, regardless of what format they’re in. And, for all my professed reservations about prizes, it does feel good to have Shortlisted for the 2009
Amy Jo Philip 