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Jen from Salt chatting to poet Vincent Da Souza with Jay Merrill in the background, and Callum listening in.
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Wow, what a party. And what a lucky person I am to be part of this publishing house.
I went up to London with Tania Hershman and her partner James. (They were staying for a few days with us in Sussex. Chris joined us later.
Salt Publishing had organised the party in the Gallery space at Foyles, on Charing Cross Road in London. There were short readings from twenty or so writers published this year, both poets and fiction writers.
It was a delight to meet up with Carys Davies again, who I last saw at Bantry at the Fish prizegiving. What a talented writer she is... her collection 'Some New Ambush' is just fantastic... I really chime with her writing.
Carys Davies reading from Some New Ambush
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And David Grubb. (I begin to see how small this world of writing is...) I sat next to him a fortnight ago at the Bridport event, where he too won a prize for a short story. Today however, he was reading from his most recent poetry collection "It Comes With A Bit Of Song".
David Grubb reading from It Comes With A Bit Of Song
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I met Chrissie Gittins, Matthew Licht (wow, what a powerhouse!), saw Jay Merrill but didn't have a chance to say hello...and last but not least... Elizabeth Baines.
Elizabeth Baines chatting to Tania Hershman
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I have long been an avid reader of her Fictionbitch blog... wonderful to finally meet up.
As I am trying to write poetry, I bought David Grubb's book and Peter Jaeger's. All really thought provoking work... very different styles, and I was drawn to them both.
I look forward to studying them, seeing where they take me.
I also bought Matthew Licht's book. I loved the rawness of his writing, and its honesty.
After the do, some of us repaired to a nearby pub. I had a long and lovely natter with Elizabeth Baines.... I liked her directness and spark enormously. Chris nattered to Carys... the pub was so crowded, we were all shouting over other people's noise. Not easy!
A wonderful event, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will be repeated. It was really memorable, quality stuff. I left that party (and the pub!) feeling very proud indeed to be part of the Salt team.
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