NASTY LITTLE PRESS http://www.nastylittlepress.org Unpretentious, independent poetry publishers Thu, 10 May 2012 18:13:45 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 Reviewed by a Sphinx http://www.nastylittlepress.org/838/ http://www.nastylittlepress.org/838/#comments Thu, 10 May 2012 18:12:55 +0000 Lizzie http://www.nastylittlepress.org/?p=838 You know how when you hear someone saying something really nice about someone you know? You’re at a party and you hear people talking about a friend of yours and they say “She’s the one who baked that cake over there that basically made me weep with joy”, or “Have you seen his illustrations? They’re [...]]]> You know how when you hear someone saying something really nice about someone you know? You’re at a party and you hear people talking about a friend of yours and they say “She’s the one who baked that cake over there that basically made me weep with joy”, or “Have you seen his illustrations? They’re incredibly good. You should check out his blog”, and you feel like running up to those people and saying “I KNOW! Aren’t they GREAT?!” but you don’t, because you don’t want to appear weird? Anyone else know that feeling?

I get that a lot working for NLP, and it happened again just this evening when I read these reviews of Nic Aubury’s Small Talk from Sphinx. I don’t want to spoil it all for you, as it’s a great read, but here are a couple of highlights:

Whether Aubury is setting his sights on relationships, technology, or the experience of being a poet, his spirited use of rhyme lights up the page. I found his images, coupled with simple lines made weighty with emotional intelligence, very moving. Read aloud, his poems contain a kind of devil-may-care joy. It is infectious.

Aubury pinpoints the humour and pathos in everyday life with precise rhyme, and can also offer images that resonate with the reader.

Knowledgeable-nonchanant
I tell the waiter ‘Fine’
when really what I’m thinking it
‘I’m fairly sure it’s wine.’

It’s the kind of perfectly constructed observation you’ll want to be able to remember and breezily quote next time you’re in that situation. And this pamphlet is full of them.

If those reviews have whetted your appetite for a bit of poetry and you haven’t yet bought Small Talk, it and a whole bevvy of poetical beauties are available here on the NLP website. Come have a browse…

Until next time, poetry fans!

]]> http://www.nastylittlepress.org/838/feed/ 0 Intros, gigs and the wettest drought ever http://www.nastylittlepress.org/intros-gigs-and-the-wettest-drought-ever/ http://www.nastylittlepress.org/intros-gigs-and-the-wettest-drought-ever/#comments Sat, 21 Apr 2012 15:28:17 +0000 Lizzie http://www.nastylittlepress.org/?p=834 Well hello there, poetry fans, and a very happy (and rainy if you live…pretty much anywhere in the UK) Saturday to you!

This is just a quick ‘un to remind you that our two latest pamphlets, Nasty Little Intro #3 by Amy Blakemore and Nasty Little Intro #4 by Alex Gwyther are flying off the shelves. [...]]]> Well hello there, poetry fans, and a very happy (and rainy if you live…pretty much anywhere in the UK) Saturday to you!

This is just a quick ‘un to remind you that our two latest pamphlets, Nasty Little Intro #3 by Amy Blakemore and Nasty Little Intro #4 by Alex Gwyther are flying off the shelves. Awesome poetry from two of the UK poetry scene’s Next Big Things, and all for the bargain price of £2. Stocks are limited, so don’t miss out!

I also have a few gigs for you to pencil into your diary, from above mentioned NLP poet Alex Gwyther. He’s out and about around the UK this spring and summer, most notably at Streetfest on 6th May, Poejazzi on 10th June, The Secret Garden Party from 19th-22nd July, and Camp Bestival from 26th-29th July.

Not being a farmer or someone who monitors water levels in regional reservoirs, I can’t say I’m all that excited about this ‘drought’ we are having. In fact, it would almost appear that we are being cheated out of an entire season. At NLP, I know we have some friends in high places, but am unsure whether any of them actually have the power to do anything about the weather. I’m just putting it out there. It’s my birthday next week and I’d like to wear my flip flops. OK? Thanks.

]]> http://www.nastylittlepress.org/intros-gigs-and-the-wettest-drought-ever/feed/ 0 Beautiful new books http://www.nastylittlepress.org/beautiful-new-books/ http://www.nastylittlepress.org/beautiful-new-books/#comments Wed, 04 Apr 2012 14:54:58 +0000 Lizzie http://www.nastylittlepress.org/?p=828 My dear poetry fans, it is with the deepest pride and the greatest pleasure that we…no, wait, I’m writing this with Lumière from Beauty and the Beast in my head, we’re not going to let the dining room present your dinner, we’re going to…unveil the latest NLP publications! Way more exciting than watching the flatware [...]]]> My dear poetry fans, it is with the deepest pride and the greatest pleasure that we…no, wait, I’m writing this with Lumière from Beauty and the Beast in my head, we’re not going to let the dining room present your dinner, we’re going to…unveil the latest NLP publications! Way more exciting than watching the flatware entertaining!

Here at NLP, we are very excited to introduce you to Amy Blakemore and Alex Gwyther, whose Nasty Little Intros are now on sale. Do go check out their pages in our People section to find out a bit more about them, and then head here to buy your copy for the bargain price of £2. You will not be disappointed!

I also wanted to draw your attention to a couple of our NLP poets who are currently or about to be on tour: Hannah Walker, whose Oh Fuck Moment show will be touring the country during April and May, Molly Naylor, who will be previewing her Edinburgh show My Robot Heart over the next few months, and John Osborne, whose show John Peel’s Shed will be touring Ireland and Scotland in May.

We’ll try to keep you up to date with our poets and their comings and goings, but do keep an eye on their websites and facebook pages!

From everyone at NLP, have a lovely, springy Easter!

]]> http://www.nastylittlepress.org/beautiful-new-books/feed/ 0 Norwich Poetry Club http://www.nastylittlepress.org/norwich-poetry-club/ http://www.nastylittlepress.org/norwich-poetry-club/#comments Tue, 20 Mar 2012 10:33:30 +0000 Lizzie http://www.nastylittlepress.org/?p=818 So last week, I discovered that the collective name for a group of bears is a sleuth. A Sleuth of Bears. That’s just brilliant. That’s the title of a Grade A poetry collection, right there. You’re welcome. Just mention me in the acknowledgements.

I only mention this because I was wondering this morning what the collective [...]]]> So last week, I discovered that the collective name for a group of bears is a sleuth. A Sleuth of Bears. That’s just brilliant. That’s the title of a Grade A poetry collection, right there. You’re welcome. Just mention me in the acknowledgements.

I only mention this because I was wondering this morning what the collective name for a group of poets is. Now, I don’t know if there is an official ruling on this (maybe it’s a job for the Poet Laureate, and if it’s not, maybe it should be), but a short perusal online provided me with a bunch of excellent suggestions, my favourite of which was a Moët. Fitting, I thought.

With that in mind, I just wanted to tell all of you who live in or around Norwich that there will be a Moët of NLP poets converging tonight at The Bicycle Shop (which confused me for years until I discovered that it was not, in fact, a shop that sold bicycles) for The Norwich Poetry Club. It all kicks off at 7:00pm, and will cost you £5, which works out at less that £1 per poet. And if that’s not a good deal, I don’t know what is.

]]> http://www.nastylittlepress.org/norwich-poetry-club/feed/ 0 Useful Dates http://www.nastylittlepress.org/useful-dates/ http://www.nastylittlepress.org/useful-dates/#comments Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:07:17 +0000 Lizzie http://www.nastylittlepress.org/?p=814 Sometimes, as much as you try and keep up with things, dates don’t go in your diary, things pass you by, and you miss out on fun stuff. It happens. I didn’t go to see Eels when they played at the UEA in my first year of university, and then bought Souljacker and realised that [...]]]> Sometimes, as much as you try and keep up with things, dates don’t go in your diary, things pass you by, and you miss out on fun stuff. It happens. I didn’t go to see Eels when they played at the UEA in my first year of university, and then bought Souljacker and realised that had I gone I would have been in the same room as them when they played Fresh Feeling. This is not a feeling I want you to experience, poetry fans. I don’t want you, for instance, to walk past a poster and discover that you missed your favourite NLP poet performing at your local arts centre, especially if you spent the evening in question eating pasta and watching old episodes of River Cottage on 4od.

Here at NLP, we know that dates can get missed, and so we do our best to keep up to date with all our poets’ schedules and keep you informed. It’s therefore in this spirit of sharing that I wanted to give you a heads up about some upcoming gigs from Martin Figura:

Whistle show
17 March 2:15pm @ StAnza Byre Theatre (studio)
15 April 10:00am @ Wenlock Poetry Festival
20 April 7:30pm @ Cheltenham Poetry Festival
26 April @ Culture Lab, Newcastle University

Martin is also performing Whistle over five days (22-26 May) at the London Roundhouse. You can book tickets for the show here.

Martin will also be performing at the following events:

Literary Death Match
12 March @ Norwich Arts Centre

Future Radio Fund-Raiser
23 March @ The York Tavern, Norwich

Book Slam (with William Boyd, Ross Sutherland & John McCleery)
27 Mar, Doors 6.30 for 7.30 @ The Clapham Grand, London

For dates of gigs and further information about all of our lovely poets, do check out the People section of our website, where, if you are the observant type, you will notice two new faces: Amy Blakemore and Alex Gwyther, whose Nasty Little Intros #3 and #4 are due back from the printers at NLP HQ any day now. We’ll be introducing them to you properly in due course!

Until then, I hope you are enjoying the (sporadic) Spring sunshine and the fact that flip flop weather is only round the corner!

]]> http://www.nastylittlepress.org/useful-dates/feed/ 0 The Pavement Ice Rink and the Pancake Prince http://www.nastylittlepress.org/the-pavement-ice-rink-and-the-pancake-prince/ http://www.nastylittlepress.org/the-pavement-ice-rink-and-the-pancake-prince/#comments Mon, 27 Feb 2012 11:15:11 +0000 Lizzie http://www.nastylittlepress.org/?p=800 Look, I like paragraphs as much as the next person, but sometimes, don’t you just crave the clean simplicity of a bullet-pointed list? You do? Excellent.

Here then, in short, are The Things That Have Happened Since My Last Post:

Luke Wright’s spoken word album We’re All In This Together has gone from being available for pre-order [...]]]> Look, I like paragraphs as much as the next person, but sometimes, don’t you just crave the clean simplicity of a bullet-pointed list? You do? Excellent.

Here then, in short, are The Things That Have Happened Since My Last Post:

  • Luke Wright’s spoken word album We’re All In This Together has gone from being available for pre-order on the website to being available for actual and immediate purchase on the website. It’s also still available on iTunes if you want to download it rather than hold it and gaze at it (and then put it in a CD player).
  • Many of our poets continue to be out and about and very possibly gigging in your area. Check out their sections of the NLP website for further links and information.
  • It snowed, it partially melted, it refroze into a treacherous pavement ice rink, it fully melted and then the sun came out and certain people started wondering about flip flops. Just saying. Spring’s here!
  • The Oscar for Best Animated Short was won by a film called The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore. If you like short, animated films about books that come to life, this is for you.
  • Preparations continue for NLP’s upcoming releases: Nasty Little Intros from Amy Blakemore and Alex Gwyther, and a pamphlet from Elvis McGonagall. We’re really looking forward to introducing you to these guys!
  • There’s a new baby at NLP HQ! And he arrived on Pancake Day! Congratulations to Sally, Luke and Aidan, and welcome to the world, little Sam; there will be pancakes at all your birthday parties.
]]> http://www.nastylittlepress.org/the-pavement-ice-rink-and-the-pancake-prince/feed/ 2 Non-ironic snow boots and great reviews http://www.nastylittlepress.org/non-ironic-snow-boots-and-great-reviews/ http://www.nastylittlepress.org/non-ironic-snow-boots-and-great-reviews/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:42:36 +0000 Lizzie http://www.nastylittlepress.org/?p=784 I have no wish to turn this into the Nasty Little Press Snow Blog, but I feel I’d be remiss if I didn’t fill you in on the fact that my recycling bin, which was frozen shut last week, now has about three inches of snow on top of it. Also, in a stunning reversal [...]]]> I have no wish to turn this into the Nasty Little Press Snow Blog, but I feel I’d be remiss if I didn’t fill you in on the fact that my recycling bin, which was frozen shut last week, now has about three inches of snow on top of it. Also, in a stunning reversal of Alanis Morissette’s Ironic (though I think we can all agree that rain on your wedding day is unfortunate rather than ironic), I bought waterproof shoes about four hours before the first flakes began falling. Rainbow striped snow boots, actually, which is incontrovertible proof that inner eight year olds are in charge of purchases when snow is forecast.

Before the snow arrived though, we at NLP were excited by the slew (that sounds like a snow word) of lovely reviews and mentions our authors have been getting lately. Here are the highlights, along with links so you can read the reviews in full:

Martin Figura’s Boring The Arse Off Young People got a great write up from londongrip.co.uk in their Winter 2011 Poetry Review.

Lizzy Dening’s poems in her Nasty Little Intro #2 were described as “taut, quietly surprising and hugely promising” by Matt Merritt at Polyolbion.

Nic Aubury and Small Talk got a nice mention in First Eleven magazine.

Great reviews continue to make our day, so if you come across someone reviewing one of our books that you think we might not have seen, please do let us know, either via the website or our facebook group.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go jump in a snowbank.

]]> http://www.nastylittlepress.org/non-ironic-snow-boots-and-great-reviews/feed/ 0 Spoken word and killer couplets http://www.nastylittlepress.org/spoken-word-and-killer-couplets/ http://www.nastylittlepress.org/spoken-word-and-killer-couplets/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:11:02 +0000 Lizzie http://www.nastylittlepress.org/?p=779 Who has snow today? Anyone? Our recycling bin was frozen shut yesterday morning and for a second last night, the drizzle got a bit floaty in Norwich and I thought we might wake up to a winter wonderland. Nope. Just rain. I’ve got to admit that the eight year old in me was disappointed, but [...]]]> Who has snow today? Anyone? Our recycling bin was frozen shut yesterday morning and for a second last night, the drizzle got a bit floaty in Norwich and I thought we might wake up to a winter wonderland. Nope. Just rain. I’ve got to admit that the eight year old in me was disappointed, but then the twenty eight year old in me reminded the eight year old that we (I) don’t currently own any waterproof shoes and we all felt better.

So good day to you! I have some exciting NLP Things to tell you. First, Luke Wright’s spoken word album We’re All In This Together is now available, both on iTunes and for pre-order here on the website. If you’ve not been to see Luke perform before and you live somewhere where he doesn’t often do gigs (like maybe The Shetland Isles or Guernsey), I highly recommend this album. It’ll be like Luke’s doing a gig for you in your living room. Or your car.

Also, on a Luke Wright theme, The Vile Ascent Of Lucien Gore And What The People Did was reviewed recently by Sphinx. Here are the highlights:

After thirteen years of pseudo left-wing government, the Tories, led by the media-savvy Lucien Gore, sweep to power and begin dismantling public services. Luke Wright’s nineteen-page satire, in ottava rima, presents a solution of sorts and an attack on voter apathy. Anger fuels the poetry and works particularly well in ironic killer-couplets.

Wright, a cracking performer, sets up an equally rollicking pace on the page.

Lucien Gore is an enjoyable political satire of our times.

For more information on this and all the other books that NLP has published, take a wander through the Books section of the website.

Until next time then, poetry fans. I hope you’ve all had a great day so far. Mine was significantly improved by furry slippers and a cranberry and orange hot cross bun from Marks and Spencer. That’s totally the twenty eight year old talking, by the way. The eight year old would have been jazzed by the lady who just walked past the window in a funny hat.

]]> http://www.nastylittlepress.org/spoken-word-and-killer-couplets/feed/ 1 New year, new projects http://www.nastylittlepress.org/new-year-new-projects/ http://www.nastylittlepress.org/new-year-new-projects/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:38:18 +0000 Lizzie http://www.nastylittlepress.org/?p=757 Is it me, or does 2012 look better written down than 2011? Just me? OK then.

Happy New Year, poetry fans! I hope you all had a fantastic break (I’m assuming you had a break. If you didn’t, I hope you managed to breathe festive joy into your air traffic control or heart surgery and held [...]]]> Is it me, or does 2012 look better written down than 2011? Just me? OK then.

Happy New Year, poetry fans! I hope you all had a fantastic break (I’m assuming you had a break. If you didn’t, I hope you managed to breathe festive joy into your air traffic control or heart surgery and held Christmas in your heart like Bob Cratchit aka Kermit the Frog) and are in the process of having an awesome new year.

Here at NLP, the year has started really well, with poetry (not quite) literally flying off the shelves. Our two newest pamphlets, Nasty Little Intro #2 by Lizzy Dening and Small Talk by Nic Aubury have been doing especially well, but pamphlets from across the NLP back catalogue have been winging their way all over the country. If this is your first time visiting us at NLP, or if on previous visits you’ve been hunting for something specific and haven’t had time to look around, then hello, welcome, pull up a chair and have a good browse. You’ll find links on our author pages that will hopefully tell you a bit more about them and the kind of poetry they write and perform; I hope you’ll find something that makes you smile or makes you laugh or makes you think.

While you’re perusing the pamphlets and finding out about our authors, you’ll also notice that many of them are currently touring and performing all over the country, and if any of them are coming to a town near you, I strongly recommend you go and see them, and then say hello afterwards. It’s a tough job, touring, but friendly faces and kind words make it less tough. Poets are people too, you know. We should get that printed on a t-shirt…

So 2012 has started well, but there’s plenty to look forward to, as we have two new Nasty Little Intros in production from Amy Blakemore and Alex Gwyther, and a pamphlet from Elvis McGonagall due in March. We’re also very excited about a poem written by Luke Wright, which is going to be featured and illustrated in The Beano. The Beano. I know. More information about all these exciting projects will be forthcoming!

Until next time, poetry fans,

Lizzie@NLP

]]> http://www.nastylittlepress.org/new-year-new-projects/feed/ 0 Great reviews and festive joy http://www.nastylittlepress.org/great-reviews-and-festive-joy/ http://www.nastylittlepress.org/great-reviews-and-festive-joy/#comments Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:28:07 +0000 Lizzie http://www.nastylittlepress.org/?p=745 How’s the Crazy Eyed Sprinting going? I don’t want to brag, but apart from being physically repulsed by Mariah Carey and Justin Bieber’s remake of All I Want For Christmas and running my thumb through with a needle yesterday evening while threading festive popcorn, the Christmas run-up has been fairly uneventful. I’m almost sorted. So [...]]]> How’s the Crazy Eyed Sprinting going? I don’t want to brag, but apart from being physically repulsed by Mariah Carey and Justin Bieber’s remake of All I Want For Christmas and running my thumb through with a needle yesterday evening while threading festive popcorn, the Christmas run-up has been fairly uneventful. I’m almost sorted. So naturally, I’ve braced myself for one of the major UK couriers to inexplicably take my final online order hostage in their Chelmsford warehouse and then batten down the hatches and refuse to respond to calls or emails like they did last year. Nothing like Christmas presents in the middle of January, City Link, thanks for that.

Here at NLP HQ, however, Mariah’s inappropriately sexy Santa suit and the threat of late presents can’t dampen the festive cheer generated by a little flurry of arrivals and reviews.

Nic Aubury’s Small Talk has just arrived hot off the press and has had a really great response so far, with Sophie Hannah at the Sunday Express calling it “utterly delightful” and picking it as one of her books of the year. This is brilliant news and hopefully the first fantastic review of many!

We also had a lovely early Christmas present from Poetry Review who reviewed Luke Wright’s The Vile Ascent of Lucien Gore and What The People Did and called it a “quasi poetical tour de force of blunt rima”, saying that “such on the nose writing hits all the targets”.

Great reviews make our day, but we’re not only interested in what poetry magazines and newspapers think, we really value your opinions too. Come find us here on the website or on facebook or Twitter and let us know what you think! You never know, you might just make our Christmas as well as making our day.

From everyone at NLP, have a very, very Happy Christmas!

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