Displaying items by tag: rosie garland

Thursday, 27 September 2012 10:14

Coming Out at Night

Coming Out At Night - performance poetry


Published by purpleprosepress, 2005 under Rosie Garland's stage name of Rosie Lugosi

Poem excerpt –

“Lights Go Out

The lights go out; there's a rustle of silk at the corner of earshot
The dark swims in, and ink closes over your head
Back row or back room my hand finds yours
Pulls you cheek to cheek, lip to lip
Go down for the third time and come up choking
And down again with my hand on your head.
The lights go out.
You said you wanted this
Screamed and bawled till mommy said
Come and tuck your little head in here
And I will stroke you, stroke you, stroke you
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John have left the bed that you lie on
As you lay you down to sleep
Pass your soul to me to keep
I'll lock it in a box and prick it with a pin
And you will never see morning again.
The lights go out...”

Five star reviews on Amazon

“A delightfully eccentric and funny collection… I found the book to be like a favourite record or cd that you will return to time and time again.”

“Coming out at night is the latest collection of poetry by the ever charismatic Rosie Lugosi… pure comic genius”

“Witty, entertaining, thought provoking, funny, sad and spooky all in one delicious package. I liked it so much, I had the cover picture tattooed on my thigh. No, really.”

Published in Poetry
Tuesday, 20 November 2012 16:47

Things I Did While I Was Dead

Things I Did While I Was Dead - Flapjack Press, 2010

Click to purchase book at Flapjack Press

Reviews:

‘Peerless and passionate award-winning poetry’

Powerfully articulating themes as diverse as relationships, childhood, serial-killers and gender, this passionate and thought-provoking collection showcases Rosie's affecting and award-winning poetry.

"Candid, tender and surprising, these are poems about love and longing, myth and mirrors, the self and the other self. Things I Did While I Was Dead packs a powerful punch" - Jackie Kay MBE, poet & novelist

"One of the country's finest performance poets" - Apples and Snakes

"She is the mistress of language, whether it's making you laugh or informing your emotions. Here is a courageous artist with guile and expertise in equal measure" - Gerry Potter, poet

Rosie's book is available from the Flapjack Press shop [via PayPal or cheque payable to Flapjack Press].

Poem example -

Angry Goddess Seeks Similar

Mary! Call the babysitter and let me
take you dancing. You used to be such a mover
before all that God wore you down to milquetoast plastic.
Blow your nose, remind your hips how to shimmy.
Show them how it’s done. Stick out your bloody tongue:
I’ll lend you my spare necklace of severed hero’s heads,
a set of brand-new steak-knives.
Aren’t you sick of their prayers? Their excuses?
Start by smashing what’s left of the wedding china;
ink your foot into the earth. Twist rage
into a rope trick and climb through your halo
up to where the dark is giddy. I’m laughing
sequins to light up the dancefloor. Write
your own horoscope. Make this your auspicious day.

Published in Poetry
Thursday, 04 October 2012 08:53

Everything Must Go

Everything Must Go Everything Must Go - Holland Park Press, 2012

Read one of the poems here:

A donor’s card

"There’s nothing here that I’ll be needing.
I don’t do souvenirs. No grave-goods,
no grave. No-one will do their back in
digging me a hole; nor have the job

of unpeeling rotten carnations from my marker.
Stretch me out in a place of arc-lights. Open me up.
Reveal my inner workings, the plot twist no-one was expecting.
Let the harvesting commence. May my heart thump love

in the warm nest of another’s ribs, my liver filter
someone else’s happy anniversary, my lungs give voice
to laughter and whistling out of tune at bus stops.
Lay me to rest under the bright faces, the white coats of angels."


Being told you have cancer is a life-changing event. Especially when you are a singer and performer and the diagnosis is throat cancer. Everything Must Go is Rosie Garland’s unflinching perspective on her relationship with the illness.
‘A wry look at what life can do to you, expressed with poetic clarity’ (Bernadette Jodh)
Neither melodramatic nor tearful, it paints vivid pictures, so you can see the waiting room or the ward and feel that you’re joining her on this journey. Rosie is a true performer and this shines through in the poems, which have a dynamic and rhythmic beat, especially when things get tough. Most importantly, she shows how any disease – and cancer especially – attacks your humanity and more specifically your femininity. Yet the way she puts this into words is also uplifting.

“Who is this stranger who crept in and stole my body, and left me with a sack of sticks?”
and
”Throwing up over the consultant when he asks you how you’re feeling.
Throwing up so hard it comes out of your nose.
Acquiring the skill of throwing up accurately.”

You can read each poem on its own, but together they tell the story of a journey. This is a rather rare occurrence in poetry collections and makes Everything Must Go something special.

‘Everything Must Go’
By Rosie Garland
Published by Holland Park Press
RRP £8.99 (paperback)
ISBN 9781907320224

Reviewed by Lynsey Evans in “Book a Poet”

“Wow. ‘Everything Must Go’ is breath-taking in its laid-bare honesty. Rosie Garland’s poems tell of her battle with cancer from the moment she’s told until she receives the news its in remission. It’s not a pitiful or melodramatic narration, or even negative – Rosie expresses her experiences; her initial numbness and shock, her hair loss, her sickness, the wanting to disappear, the hospital, the pain and weakness, the treatment, the loss of her femininity – it’s heart-breaking but Rosie is so strong in her poems that’s it’s somewhat uplifting. My personal favourites from the collection are ‘Camouflage’ and ‘Dignity’. Quite stunning and bought a tear to my eye.
Highly recommended”
Source: http://www.bookapoet.co.uk/book_reviews/book_reviews/august_2012/

Published in Poetry
Friday, 28 October 2016 15:45

As In Judy

Now available!
Rosie Garland’s new collection of poems, ‘As In Judy’.

Flapjack Press, 2016

I wish to express heartfelt gratitude to Char March for her generous editorial input, without which this collection would be far weaker.
And to Ruth Fainlight, for her inspiring suggestion that ‘As In Judy’ would make a great title.

‘The reason I love Rosie’s work so much is that she provides food for thought. She addresses issues that need addressing, and imagines the inner and outer landscapes we all inhabit with eloquence and grace. Shed your light, Rosie.’ David Hoyle 2016

 

 

  A poem from the collection:

 
 
When You Grow Up

At night, she leaps and does not land. Spreads her arms and soars
above the fenced and neatly weeded garden. Her dreams
are practice sessions where she lifts cars, sees through walls, fights

dragons. She is a pirate captain, a queen, a horse. She is neither girl
nor boy: the distinctions are irrelevant when her small body encompasses
male and female; human, beast. A turbulent child figure-heading

the prow of her beaked ship, she buckles on armour, rescues
princesses from charming princes and spinning wheels,
fearless of the shapes beneath the bed. Too soon

she hears the summons: Breakfast! Now!
Blinks this world into focus. Hushes battle cries,
sheathes her sword between the pages of her book.

Every bedtime her mother tucks in
the sheet of marriage, husband, children: tucks it in tight.

© Rosie Garland 2016

 

Published in Poetry
Thursday, 13 August 2020 13:51

Flash Fiction: online journal highlights 2020

Delighted to highlight some of my flash stories published in 2020.

‘The correct hanging of game birds’ in X-R-A-Y (June 2020)
Click link to read - http://x-r-a-y.com/the-correct-hanging-of-game-birds-by-rosie-garland/fiction/

‘Facts of matter’ was Highly Commended in the Litro Flash Friday Isolation Competition, 2020.
Click link to read - https://www.litro.co.uk/2020/06/highly-commended-flash-story-isolation-theme-facts-of-matter/

‘Waiting for time to catch up’ – featured in the New Flash Fiction Review ‘Disneyland is Closed’ issue 21, May 2020
http://newflashfiction.com/rosy-garland/

‘The first man on the moon’ won First prize in the Lunate 500 Flash Fiction competition, 2020.

“This is what flash can do; condense a moment, a scenario, a dream, and commit to it utterly. The details are just fantastically vivid and unexpected, harkening to an era of apothecaries, leather-bound tomes, angels and demons as corporeal as the rest of us. A delight in tiny form.” Helen McClory (judge)
Click link to read - https://lunate.co.uk/lunate500/lunate-500-winner-the-first-man-on-the-moon-by-rosie-garland

‘Heirlooms’ – in Loss Lit, issue 10 (2020)
Click link to read - http://losslit.com/feature/heirlooms/

Published in Short Stories

i was honoured to be inaugural Writer-in-residence at The John Rylands Library, Manchester from 2018-2019.

Photos by Jill Jennings. Please contact for permissions.
http://www.jilljennings.com/

Published in Gallery
Flash Fiction highlights 2018-2019

‘Snuffing hearts that burn too bright’ – Spelk, May 2019
Snuffing hearts that burn too bright

Also longlisted for the Wigleaf Top 50 Very Short Fictions, 2020.

‘The Third Favourite Wife of The Emperor’ in Casket Fiction, 2019
Click link to read

‘The Names Of Stars’ won the Retreat West themed flash competition, Dec 2018
Click link to read 'The names of stars'
“The unexpectedness of what happens when the narrator hides in the loft during a family Christmas gathering is excellent. Love how the star signifies the distance the narrator really wants to run from her situation. And that the ending poses as many questions as it answers. Beautiful use of language too, a really light touch on a dark subject. Great stuff.”
& was nominated for Best of the Net 2019
http://www.sundresspublications.com/bestof/finalists.htm

‘Your sons & your daughters are beyond’ - Longleaf Review 2019
https://longleafreview.com/rosie-garland/

‘What goes on in the bushes’ - The Cabinet of Heed, issue 16 2019
Click link to read

‘Speaking in Tongues’ won First prize in The Casket of Fictional Delights 2018 Flash Fiction.
Click link to read 'Speaking in tongues'

Published in Short Stories
Thursday, 13 August 2020 12:37

"No Good Deed" (Retreat West Books 2019)

No Good Deed: Short stories raising funds for Indigo Volunteers

(ed: Amanda Saint & Sophie Duffy)

Includes my short story ‘Climbing Wall’.

"These funny, heart wrenching, surreal and uplifting stories on the theme of ‘Help’ are raising funds for the Indigo Volunteers charity.
Featuring stories from Clare Harvey, Susmita Bhattacharya, Joanna Campbell, Amanda Huggins, Rosie Garland, Meg Pokrass and many more, this anthology will make you laugh, cry and want to go straight out and help someone in anyway you can."

Order here - https://retreatwestbooks.com/no-good-deed/

Published in Short Stories
Thursday, 13 August 2020 11:57

Cōnfingō issue 11, 2019

Cōnfingō issue 11, 2019

Includes my flash fiction ‘Quicksand’.

Cōnfingō is an independent publishing house based in Manchester, UK. Creating beautiful editions of new fiction, poetry and art in all forms.

https://www.confingopublishing.uk/product-page/c%C5%8Dnfing%C5%8D-11-uk

Published in Short Stories

News and Events

  • Royal Society of Literature - Fellowship
    Royal Society of Literature - Fellowship
    Royal Society of Literature Fellowship

     

    On 12th July 2023 I was made a Fellow of The Royal Society of Literature! It was something I never imagined in a hundred years.

    It's a tremendous honour, & a testament to the quality of my writing. To say I am thrilled is a huge misunderstatement.

    https://rsliterature.org/fellows/rosie-garland/

    https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jul/12/royal-society-of-literature-aims-to-broaden-representation-as-it-announces-62-new-fellows

    Written on Monday, 21 August 2023 09:12
  • Manchester City of Literature - Festival of Libraries 2023
    Manchester City of Literature - Festival of Libraries 2023

    Delighted to get the opportunity to talk to Manchester Festival of Libraries about the importance of libraries in my life!

    https://youtu.be/18VPl5qXvkM

    And there are many more –
    Watch all the short films featuring four accomplished Manchester creative practitioners who have worked closely with libraries over the course of their careers.

    Hear how libraries can support artists, writers, dancers, musicians and more to create original work, access valuable resources, gain practical support and inspire creativity.
    These films aim to highlight the rich creative diversity of our libraries, and pave the way for emerging artists to head to their local library for ideas and insight for their next big project.

    You can view all the films below.
    https://www.manchestercityofliterature.com/event/creatives-in-libraries/

    Written on Thursday, 22 June 2023 09:40
  • 'Because goddess is never enough' - a new film-poem!
    'Because goddess is never enough' - a new film-poem!
    ‘Because goddess is never enough’ – revealing the new film poem, made in collaboration with filmmaker Jane Glennie.

    Absolutely thrilled to announce this new film poem – created over 2021 in collaboration with amazing filmaker Jane Glennie. Inspired by the life of dancer and choreographer Tilly Losch, the film explores notions of erasure, strategies for persistence and the centrality of creative expression for the life of a woman in perpetual motion.

    We are delighted with the reception the film is receiving! A list of film festivals is below.
    AND there’s a ‘Book of the Film’!

    'Because Goddess is Never Enough (Peculiarity Press, 2022)
    Available from Blackwell’s (Waterstones, Amazon, etc)
    https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Because-Goddess-Is-Never-Enough-by-Rosie-Garland-Jane-Glennie/9781912384167

    Flick through the book here –
    https://photos.app.goo.gl/zzDN5KKbUccqPZsQ7

    Film festivals & events 2022 that have selected & featured 'Because Goddess is Never Enough'

    Moving Poems May 2022
    'Because Goddess is Never Enough' – selected as one of ‘the best poetry films on the web’
    https://movingpoems.com/2022/05/because-goddess-is-never-enough-by-rosie-garland/

    Fringe Arts Bath Festival 27 May - 12 June 2022
    Bath’s annual free festival of visual arts
    'Because Goddess is Never Enough' – selected for WORDPLAY programme
    https://www.fringeartsbath.co.uk/festival-2022
    https://www.fringeartsbath.co.uk/wordplay

    Tranås at the Fringe International Arts Festival 2-9 July in Tranås, Sweden
    'Because Goddess is Never Enough' – selected for the LIVING FEMININITY programme.
    https://www.atthefringe.org/film-program-2022

    Women X Film Festival 2-4 September in Darlington, UK.
    'Because Goddess is Never Enough' - Honourable Mention
    https://riannepictures.com/womenx

    Women Over 50 Film Festival
    'Because Goddess is Never Enough' – nominated for Best Experimental film, selected for the AT MY CORE programme
    https://wofff22.eventive.org/films/62e15892943cb70054a692d9
    https://wofff.co.uk/2022/08/wofff22-films-announced-find-out-more-about-our-fantastic-official-selections/

    Athens 10th International Video Poetry Festival 28 September - 1 October 2022
    'Because Goddess is Never Enough' – screened 29th September within 'Feminist Struggles' programme
    https://theinstitute.info/?p=5226

    HOME Manchester, Filmed Up 28th September 2022
    ‘Because Goddess is Never Enough’ selected for Filmed Up programme.

    https://homemcr.org/event/filmed-up-sep-2022/

    The Feminist Film Festival, Bucharest, 13-16 October 2022
    'Because Goddess is Never Enough' – Official Selection
    https://filmfreeway.com/TheFeministFilmFestival

    Sunderland Shorts Film Festival October 17th, 2022
    'Because Goddess is Never Enough' – selected for the Art & Experimental Films programme
    https://filmfreeway.com/SunderlandShorts

    Zebra Poetry Film Festival, Berlin 3-6 November 2022
    'Because Goddess is Never Enough'.
    We are very proud to be selected for Zebra, the oldest and largest international festival of poetry films.
    https://filmfreeway.com/ZEBRAPoetryFilmFestival
    https://www.haus-fuer-poesie.org/en/zebra-poetry-film-festival/home-zebra-poetry-film-festival/

    Still Voices Film Festival, Ireland 9-13 November 2022
    'Because Goddess is Never Enough' – Official selection Experimental
    https://stillvoicesfilmfestival.com/

    Written on Thursday, 29 September 2022 09:41
  • Sept 2022 - The March Violets announce 5 CD boxset release!
    Sept 2022 - The March Violets announce 5 CD boxset release!
    Announcing the Novemeber 18th 2022 release of 'The Palace of Infinite Darkness'

    It's 40 years since The March Violets released our 1st 7" EP (seriously, FORTY).
    So it’s a great time to announce that this tasty 5 CD Box Set is now up for pre order from Jungle Records!
    The Palace of Infinite Darkness - In addition to all the singles plus all the extended versions, the box has six excellent BBC sessions, 23 tracks with 9 unreleased songs (also reissued as Big Soul Kiss 2LP yellow vinyl after a sold-out RSD release). Then there are two whole discs of unreleased demo sessions – one from the early period 1982-84 and another from 1985-87. Founder-member Rosie Garland recounts the band’s story in a 44-page booklet.
    Check out the link:
    https://smarturl.it/MV5CDbox

    Written on Thursday, 22 September 2022 12:19
  • June 2022 - Queer Poetry for The Arvon Foundation
    June 2022 - Queer Poetry for The Arvon Foundation
    Residential Writing Week: Queer Poetry

    A wonderful experience – for the first time, I co-tutored a residential writing week for the prestigious Arvon Foundation! It was such a thrill to work alongside inspiring co-tutor Keith Jarrett and electrifying guest reader Jay Bernard.
    A very special week. I won’t forget it.

    Monday June 27th - Saturday July 2nd 2022
    Totleigh Barton, Sheepwash, Beaworthy Devon
    https://www.arvon.org/writing-courses/courses-retreats/residential-writing-week-queer-poetry/

    Written on Wednesday, 21 September 2022 15:16