Author Archives: Robin Houghton

About Robin Houghton

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Announcing our new Patron: Carol Ann Duffy

We’re delighted and proud to announce that Dame Carol Ann Duffy, the Poet Laureate, has agreed to be our Patron.

Carol Ann Duffy, Patron of Telltale Press

Photo by Michael Woods.

Carol Ann is a fantastic supporter of new poetry initiatives and it was her encouragement that sowed the seeds of Telltale Press in 2014. She believes in our idea of being proactive, creating opportunities for poets and seizing the means of poetry production.

It’s a brilliant endorsement of our model and extremely motivational for us that Carol Ann is willing to associate her name with the Press.

These are exciting times for Telltale as we move into our third year – with plans for new members, more readings and more first pamphlets.

 

 

Sarah Barnsley pamphlet launch

November 12th: Telltale launches its fourth pamphlet, Sarah Barnsley’s marvellous The Fire Station at Goldsmiths, London. We achieved record sales for a launch! You can also buy it here.

Sarah Barnsley Goldsmiths pamphlet launch

Sarah also read from her pamphlet at the Pighog night at the Redroaster Cafe in Brighton.

Sarah Barnsley reading at Pighog poetry night

 

‘The Fire Station’ Launch Readings

Sarah Barnsley reading at Red Roaster

Sarah Barnsley will be reading from her new pamphlet The Fire Station this autumn at two events:

Poetry at the Red Roaster Cafe in Brighton, 29th October, 7.45pm when Sarah is sharing the bill with Paul Feldwick.

And the official pamphlet launch reading is on Thursday 12th November at Goldsmiths, University of London, at a special edition of Goldsmiths Literature Seminar (GLITS). The event will be held in Warmington Tower Room A, main campus, at 6.30pm.

Don’t miss the opportunity to hear Sarah read, it’s a brilliant collection.

Plus refreshments, giveaways and general Telltale fabulousness.

See you there!

Telltale at Free Verse, the Poetry Book Fair

All the Telltale poets were at the Poetry Book Fair in London on Saturday, where we shared a table with The Frogmore Press… plus it was launch day for Sarah Barnsley’s The Fire Station… – buy it here!

 

It was an excellent day, we had the opportunity to meet loads of poets and readers, some for the first time, we sold a ton of pamphlets (thanks everyone!), gave away free poem cards and generally stirred things up with our call to (poetry) arms. Great stuff.

Telltale Poets at the Poetry Book Fair

Peter Kenny, Robin Houghton, Siegfried Baber, Sarah Barnsley representing Telltale Press at the Poetry Book Fair

Still busy over the summer…

Telltale Towers is ringing with the sound of cogitation as we mull over plans for the next year or so. Some of it is a bit hush-hush at the moment, but here’s what’s definitely happening:

Sarah Barnsley’s pamphlet The Fire Station is coming in September and it’s going to be Hot Stuff. Cover reveal coming soon!

We’re entering both When Love Came To The Cartoon Kid and The Nightwork for the Michael Marks Poetry Pamphlet Award.

We’re cosying up to the Frogmore Press for Free Verse, The Poetry Book Fair in London on September 26th where we’ll be sharing a table and selling pamphlets, postcards and/or all manner of natty poetry doo-dads. Hope to see you there…

 

‘Cartoon Kid’ reviewed on Sabotage

Another great review of ‘When Love Came To The Cartoon Kid’ this time by David Clarke at Sabotage Reviews.

We’re very grateful to reviewers – there are a lot of publications out there, and getting reviews is a key way to bring new pamphlets to readers’ attention. ‘Cartoon Kid’, incidentally, is our fastest-selling pamphlet so far…

A Hot Night at the Poetry Cafe

Robin Houghton, Peter Kenny, Sarah Barnsley, Tamar Yoseloff & Sue Rose, Telltale Poets & Friends, Poetry Cafe June 2015

Robin Houghton, Peter Kenny, Sarah Barnsley, Tamar Yoseloff & Sue Rose

We had a great time at the Poetry Cafe last night. These things are never without drama! Firstly, Tamar Yoseloff wasn’t at all well, so it was touch and go whether she could be there – so we were mighty relieved and grateful to see her.

Then there had clearly been some mix-up at the Poetry Cafe, as a number of the audience clearly weren’t expecting our event. It was actually standing room only in the end, and although we sweltered a bit no-one really minded. One person who turned up expecting an open mic was disappointed, but a number of others did stay and one person made a point of saying she was glad she did.

Our guest readers gave wonderful readings – Sue’s included some of the poems from her sonnet sequence Heart Archives, a combination of fourteen sonnets inspired by love and loved ones, and her own photos. It’s a really beautiful book, lovely production values, from Hercules Editions. And Tamar read from (and gave some background to) her new book Nowheres, a collaboration with artist David Harker, whose exhibition Drawing the Line is on display at the Poetry Cafe until June 27th. You can read John Field’s review of Nowheres here.

We were very proud to introduce Sarah Barnsley in her first reading for Telltale, a preview of some of the poems from her forthcoming pamphlet The Fire Station.

The audience included two visiting professors from the State University of New York at Oswego, Laura Donnelly and Adrienne McCormick, and a number of their students, which was great fun. And we couldn’t NOT invite Laura to read a couple of her own poems while in London!

Tamar Yoseloff, Sue Rose & Sarah Barnsley at the Poetry Cafe

Just a week to go till our next ‘Telltale Poets & Friends‘ – our informal reading series featuring special guests. Peter and I hope you can join us at the Poetry Cafe, 22 Betterton Street in London’s Covent Garden, at 7pm next Thursday 18th June.

We’re delighted to have Tamar Yoseloff and Sue Rose coming to read recent work, and also our newest member, Sarah Barnsley. We’re currently working on the production of Sarah’s debut pamphlet, ‘The Fire Station’, which will be published in September. It’s a wonderful first collection and we’re so proud to have Sarah on board. Do come and hear her read and enjoy a sneak preview of the pamphlet.

Photo of Sarah Barnsley by Hannah Brackenbury

Photo of Sarah Barnsley by Hannah Brackenbury

Emma Lee reviews ‘When Love Came To The Cartoon Kid’

We’re thrilled with a new review of ‘When Love Came To The Cartoon Kid’ on Emma Lee’s blog. Emma is a well-respected poetry reviewer who writes an excellent blog and doesn’t pull her punches.

Read the review of Siegfried Baber’s pamphlet here …

 

 

 

Launch of ‘When Love Came To The Cartoon Kid’

Siegfried Baber launch reading photo by Dot & Lucy Photography

Huge thanks to Toppings Bookshop in Bath, and to Saber the manager there, for not only supporting our latest pamphlet but for hosting the launch reading last Wednesday.

Siegfried Baber’s ‘When Love Came To The Cartoon Kid’ is a fantastic debut from a young poet with a great poetry career ahead of him. It was a super audience and nearly 30 pamphlets were sold there and then … plus we’ve already had mail orders from as far afield as Australia! You can buy the pamphlet here …

Thanks so much to Dot of Dot & Lucy Photography for allowing us to reproduce her photos on this site.

Siegfried Baber,  Toppings Bookshop May 2015 photo by Dot & Lucy Photography