Poetry

New Releases: Chattering at School and The Renegade

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Chattering at School

The poems in this collection include fun narratives on the surface, while containing learning and teaching moments as the poems unfold. The book has lovely illustrations and is full of moral lessons.

The introduction to Chattering at School: Nature poems for children explains that these poems were written by a schoolboy aged 11 to 18 (1951-58) during his annual summer holiday visits to his grandmother on her small farm in Ireland. She had been his carer and guardian from the time of the German Blitz of London where he was born, and lived with her until the war ended in 1945. He then returned to his unknown parents, who had been unable to visit him in Ireland from the UK during the war.

Over 60 years later, the author of these poems – Edward Forde Hickey – discovered them (his own schoolboy attempts at writing poetry) lying in the attic and felt they were worth recording publicly.

About the Author

Edward Forde Hickey is a retired Headteacher and has written eight books to date, each with an element of folk culture.

Edward lives in Kent with his wife. They have three sons. During the years 1962 until 1998, he taught in inner city primary schools (laterally as a headteacher for 18 years). In early life, he was a pop star with Decca records (see ‘Eddie Hickey/Lady May’) and later sang with the Glenside Ceilidhe Band in The Galtymore Dancehall, Cricklewood (1965/1975).

Born of Irish parents during the Blitz of London, he spent his first five years of life nurtured and moulded by his grandmother in the foothills above Dolla, near Nenagh in County Tipperary. His grandmother is and always was his inspiration; she had a natural gift with words.

Edward has always been interested in folklore and the Irish past (its music, dance and literature). He was a champion Irish step-dancer. He taught and adjudicated it, even as far afield as in Australia, before dedicating himself to research into hillside communities in north Tipperary, from where he brought back tapes of original songs for The English Folk Dance and Song Society.

He keeps a small farm in the foothills of north Tipperary and visits it often.

Reviews

“This collection of poems about the natural world will stimulate children’s imagination and hopefully inspire them to get to know more about their environment and protect it. It should have wide general appeal for children of all ages; both for parents to read to young children and for older children to read themselves.” – Darin & Aimee Jewell

“Edward has a lovely style where he effortlessly combines the world of history, folklore and fiction. He manages to switch from humour to sadness and takes the reader willingly along with him.” – M. G. Darmody, Tipperary Studies Centre

“Chattering at School” by Edward Forde Hickey is currently available in paperback from Amazon at:

This poetry collection is also available to download in e-book format from Amazon at:

Press/Media Contact Details:

Grosvenor House Publishing
Tel. 0208 339 6060
E-mail: info@grosvenorhousepublishing.co.uk

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New Release: Irritating the Silver Lining by Dave Kurley

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They say every cloud has a silver lining.

This book of poems and photographs is the result of IRRITATING THE SILVER LINING with the grit of Dave Kurley’s imagination for the last couple of years. In here you will find a veritable downpour of little pearls, perfectly formed. There is love of many different kinds. Misplaced anger. Grief and loss. Musings on anxiety and depression. The pandemic (inevitably). And there is open-mouthed wonder at the nature that surrounds us. Oh, and some of it’s pretty funny, too.

Dave Kurley is constantly amazed by the fact he was born in Sheffield in 1962. He has been, at various times, an actor, a dry stone waller, a civil servant, a stand-up comedian, a sales rep, a singer, a pub manager, a playwright, a call centre operative and a podcaster. This list is neither exhaustive nor complete. Currently, he is a prize-winning poet and a conversational English tutor. These things are subject to change.

He is equally amazed that these days he lives in central Portugal, with his lovely wife Alison (this is not subject to change), and a lot of sunshine and butterflies. He enjoys performing his poetry, both live and online. You’ll find him in Kurleybobs’ Poetry Corner on Instagram or Facebook. Say hello when you get there. He’d like that.

About the author

Dave Kurley wrote the lyrics for all but one song for the band New Model Soldier, who existed from 1980 to 1983 and then reappeared in 2015 for a year or so. You can find their stuff on Spotify, if you fancy it. He wrote a play called Your Great Interest which was performed by the Crucible Youth Theatre in Sheffield in 1984. He worked with the Croydon Youth Theatre in the late 1990s to devise two plays, one called Seven and the other called Us. His wife Alison and he co-wrote and co-presented a podcast called Proper English, aimed at helping intermediate level English language learners. He found his poetic muse during the pandemic, and since the beginning of 2021, he has been writing a poem every day.

IRRITATING THE SILVER LINING is his first book of poetry.

Excerpt from “Irritating the Silver Lining”

“Seeding inchoate clouds
Until they darken and bloat
Become pleasingly plump plums
Salting the cumulonimbus
Until the contents calcify
And can no longer remain aloft
Irritating the silver lining
Until the sky weeps mother’s pearls

Perfectly perfect, unblemished spheres
Precious hail for eager, grasping fingers
To pluck for punnets
From shattered windshields
Concave bonnets
And flayed allotments
After the beautiful glistening downpour.”

“Irritating the Silver Lining” by Dave Kurley is currently available in paperback (ISBN #978-1803694276)

Available through all good booksellers including Amazon, Waterstones and Barnes & Noble

For interview, comment and information about this book of poetry from New Generation Publishing, email: info@newgeneration-publishing.com or call 01234 711 956