In Halifax last night my friend Victoria Gatehouse read at the Corner Bookshop to launch her debut pamphlet published by Valley Press. Their representative made us all welcome. It was a packed house. Vicky read alongside Wendy Pratt and Jo Brandon.
Vicky is a clinical researcher by day and in this “beautifully balanced and sure-footed debut” there are poems about science, such as Recording the Phlebotomist, Burning Mouth Syndrome, Phosphorescence, as well as poems set firmly in their locale (The Geese of Sowerby Bridge, In Praise of Pylons) and some which are, like folk tales “on the threshold of mystery”. I particularly enjoyed these and the poems which are inspired by art work made by Susie MacMurray: Pillion, Velvet Shells, Widow.
The bookshop is based in the Piece Hall, which recently has been renovated to a very high standard. I walked across this large open space to the sound of trickling water, marvelling at the lights against the last light of the day.
Vicky’s book is now on the shelves, between Rosie Garland and Kahlil Gibran. She keeps very good company, that’s for sure!
