Longbarrow Press

The publication of our walking-themed anthology The Footing was marked at The Shakespeare, Sheffield on 25 November with an evening of readings, performances and talks by all seven poets featured in the book. Angelina Ayers, James Caruth, Mark Goodwin, Rob Hindle, Andrew Hirst, Chris Jones and Fay Musselwhite plotted a unique route through the landscapes of the anthology: its dark cities, luminous coasts, hidden waterways and exposed hilltops. Photographers Emma Bolland and Karl Hurst were on hand to document the evening’s performances; you can view their images here. A sound-walk through The Footing, featuring spoken contributions from the poets and narration by Emma Bolland, is now available to hear (click on the ‘Play’ button below):

On the Longbarrow Blog, Matthew Clegg considers the influence of panic attack syndrome on some of the poems in his debut collection West North East. Click here to read ‘The A-bomb of adrenaline’. An earlier post, ‘Ground Sense’, explores the terrain and characters that inform his poem ‘Sirens’ (also featured in West North East). Click here to read the essay.

The Footing and West North East are currently available from Longbarrow Press at just £12 each (inc UK P&P); you can also buy both books here (via PayPal) for just £22 (inc UK P&P).

Our current Featured Poem is Fay Musselwhite‘s ‘Path Kill’ (from The Footing); click here to read the poem and to listen to Musselwhite reading it on location in Sheffield.

The Footing: £12 (inc UK P&P)

The Footing: £15 (inc Europe P&P)

The Footing: £17 (inc Rest of World P&P)

The Footing is an anthology of specially commissioned poems on the theme of walking, with substantial contributions from Angelina Ayers, James Caruth, Mark Goodwin, Rob Hindle, Andrew Hirst, Chris Jones and Fay Musselwhite.  A beautifully produced 96-page hardback book, it is now available from Longbarrow Press for just £12 inc UK P&P.  You can order the book securely by clicking on the relevant PayPal button above.

City, country and coast (and the spaces in between) are the settings for these journeys;
here, the act of walking is, by turns, exploratory, destructive, restorative, defiant,
contemplative and devotional.  The poems and sequences in The Footing
are The Strait (Angelina Ayers), Tithes (James Caruth), From a St Juliot to Beyond a Beeny (Mark Goodwin), Flights and Traverses (Rob Hindle), Three Night Walks
(Andrew Hirst), Death and the Gallant (Chris Jones) and Breach (Fay Musselwhite).

The Footing is launched at The Shakespeare, 146-148 Gibraltar Street, Sheffield S3 8UB on Monday 25 November (7.30pm start; admission free). The launch will offer unique presentations of the work in the book, featuring short films, readings, audio works and discussions. Visit The Footing microsite to listen to recordings of the poems and to read commentaries by the poets on their contributions to the book. Angelina Ayers‘ current post on the Longbarrow Blog is a reflective essay on the making of her poem ‘The Bench’ (included in The Footing). You can read the essay here, and listen to her read the poem below: