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Hello, and welcome to this week's newsletter!
This week, we’re thinking about and celebrating the simple joy of summer reading. There is something deeply restorative about reading in the summer, particularly when on holiday, when the days seem to stretch on forever, and we have a little more time and space to slow down. There is a particular kind of freedom in stepping away from the rhythms of everyday life and into another world entirely.
Those long, uninterrupted stretches of time to truly lose yourself in a book are a rare gift. Perhaps that’s why we remember the books we read on holiday so vividly. They become woven into the memories of the places where we read them - the warmth of the sun, the sound of the sea or the countryside, and that wonderful feeling of having nowhere else to be.
Of course, you don’t have to travel far to experience the pleasure of reading. Whether you’re stretched out on a beach, sitting beneath the shade of a tree, travelling by train, or simply enjoying a quiet afternoon in your own garden, a good book can transport us, spark new ideas, lift our spirits, and calm a busy mind.
This week, we're prescribing a selection of our favourite feel-good non-fiction books, full of wit, warmth, hope, joy, smart thinking, and beautiful writing. We hope you'll find something here to pack in your suitcase, or to curl up with in your favourite sun-dappled reading spot at home.
Happy reading, and wherever you are this summer, may you discover a book to get wonderfully lost in.
Our bookseller Pat Edwards' feel-good non-fiction recommendation
 ''I recommend Wings to Fly: Frida Kahlo - On Creativity and Endurance by Frida Kahlo and edited by Louise Coigley. This book contains paintings alongside new translations from her diaries and letters. I love it because it’s not heavy with pages of prose and so is easy to pick up and put down. There are little hidden gems such as ‘Branches, seas, bitterness woven into abandoned eyes’ that leave the reader to ponder and find their own interpretation. Or ‘distant suns that call to me because I am part of their core’, to remind us of our mutual connectivity. The book is almost pocket-sized too, so easy to pack for a day out or to sneak into the shade of the garden with.''
Our window display in Bishops Castle this month, beautifully created by our bookseller Jane, is a celebration of summer reading. Filled with books to lose yourself in, it captures the simple pleasure of long, unhurried days spent with a book.
Our subject line this week comes from Wendy Cope’s poem The Orange, which you can read here. We love Wendy’s collection of the same name, too, which you can browse here. And if you’re in need of some feel-good poetry, we loved the recommendations from poets in this article.
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Primers Volume Eight Launch:
A Poetry Party
Few independent poetry publishers have had the impact of Nine Arches Press. Led by poet and editor Jane Commane (who also happens to be Deb Alma's publisher and long-time friend), this Midlands-based press has built an extraordinary reputation for discovering and championing new voices, while publishing some of the most exciting established poets writing today. Their books have been shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize, the Forward Prizes and many of the UK's leading literary awards, proving that a small independent press can have an enormous influence on the poetry landscape.
One of Nine Arches' most inspiring initiatives is Primers, their acclaimed mentoring and publication scheme for emerging poets. Every two years, hundreds of anonymous submissions are whittled down to just three exceptional new voices, who receive editorial mentoring, publication in a beautifully produced anthology, and support as they begin their publishing careers. It's become one of the UK's most respected launchpads for new poets.
We're delighted to be welcoming Jane Commane and the latest Primers poets to the Poetry Pharmacy for a special evening celebrating new poetry and the joy of independent publishing. We'd love you to join us. Tickets are available here: Book your place.
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Book of the Month
I Eat the Stars
By Sarah Wilson
At a time when many of us are searching for steadier ground, Sarah Wilson's I Eat the Stars offers neither easy answers nor false certainties. Instead, it invites us into a deeper conversation about impermanence, courage, wonder and what it means to be fully alive.
Pick up a copy of our Book of the Month from our Oxford Street or Bishop's Castle bookshop and enjoy a complimentary drink in our Dispensary Café.
"It is difficult to provide philosophical guidance through rupture while it is still tearing the fabric of the world apart. But this is what Sarah Wilson manages to do, with exactly the kind of tenderness and wild-spiritedness that we are going to need—and want—going forward."
Alain de Botton, philosopher, author, and founder of The School of Life
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We’ll be exploring the literary landmarks and poetic stories of Marylebone and Soho with Liz Ison, and ending at Oxford Street’s literary landmark, the Poetry Pharmacy. Included in the walk will be tales about Lord Byron, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Katherine Mansfield, Dylan Thomas, William Blake, Shakespeare, Shelley, Oscar Wilde. The aim is to “take poetry for a walk” so we will be including readings along the way.
Ticket price of £38 includes:
- Two hour guided walk with anthologist Liz Ison
- Delicious refreshments at the Poetry Pharmacy, Oxford Street
- A Poetry Pharmacy bundle of 100 Poems to Grow Your Confidence and a bottle of Confidence Poetry Pharmacy pills
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Join poets Becca Drake and Erica Hesketh for an evening of poems that reflect on the place of humans in the more-than-human world, and that look for new ways to speak about our environment and the climate crisis. Becca and Erica will discuss and read from their recent pamphlets, Unstill Landscapes and To an Unknown Receiver: Sonnets & Cascades, both published by Guillemot Press.
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Write, reflect and connect in this restorative creative writing workshop exploring hope. Over the course of 90 minutes, you'll ease into writing with gentle warm-up exercises before exploring what hope means to you through a series of thoughtful conversation prompts and creative writing activities.
How it works
- A 90-minute, in-person workshop (doors open at 10am for a 10.10am start)
- A blend of conversation prompts and creative writing exercises to bring hope to life in new ways
- A welcoming, supportive environment to meet and connect with others
Please note that no previous writing experience is required, and there is never any pressure to share what you've written. Whether you're putting pen to paper for the first time or have notebooks full of ideas, you'll be warmly welcomed. Simply bring your favourite notebook, a pen, and an open heart and mind.
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Jen is an award-winning poet and creative copywriter who transforms feelings, memories and ideas into heartfelt, personalised poetry. At her regular drop in events at the Poetry Pharmacy on Oxford Street, she crafts bespoke poems live on her trusty vintage typewriter, capturing individual stories and emotions and turning them into unique keepsakes.
Further dates:
Wednesday 7th & Sunday 25th October
Friday 6th & Sunday 22nd November
Sunday 13th December
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We’ll be bringing poetry and literature off the bookshelves and outside by spending time in one of the capital’s most beautiful parks, St James's Park, seeing how the combined power of poetry and parks can help us to relax and unwind, before further literary wanderings through the districts of St James's and Piccadilly, ending up at the Poetry Pharmacy in Oxford Street.
The walk will finish at the Poetry Pharmacy on Oxford Street for tea and cake where participants will also receive a Poetry Pharmacy goody bag!
Ticket price of £38 includes:
- Two hour guided walk with anthologist Liz Ison
- Delicious refreshments at the Poetry Pharmacy, Oxford Street
- A Poetry Pharmacy bundle of a copy of 100 Poems to Help you Relax, edited by Liz, and your own bottle of Relax pills, specially created to celebrate the publication of this lovely book.
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Start your morning with a burst of creativity at the Poetry Pharmacy London! Join poet Laurie Bolger for a relaxed, playful session of free flow writing in our lush first-floor space on Oxford Street. All stationery and tea are provided - just bring yourself and your imagination. Newbies very welcome; no experience needed!
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Read, share and listen to your favourite poems on the theme: 'shining, festive, expendable, eternal' from the poem Advice from a Raindrop by Kim Stafford.
Bring your favourite poems* on rain, weather, life struggles, power, change, activism - whatever is sparked for you by this poem.
We’ll read to each other over coffee and croissants in the bright and airy space of the Poetry Pharmacy Lab, and if you want to come and ‘just’ listen, that’s perfect, too.
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Join poet Louise Warren for an evening of poetry and performance Inspired by all things poisonous. From arsenic to venom, fungi to fugu, delight in dark and deathly stories of unfortunate spouses, professional poisoners and how innocent plants can hide deadly secrets! She will be reading original poems from her new collection Poison published by Tuba Press.
Copies of the book will be on sale on the night. Ticket includes a complimentary glass of absinthe!
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Join Jan Westwood for a guided exploration of Simon Armitage's poetry and other poets who drew on the same influences and inspiration.
Simon Armitage is the current Poet Laureate and known for his dry Yorkshire wit and conversational style. His work explores ecology, masculinity, trauma, the aftermath of war and his portrayal of everyday life.
He has said of poetry that, "The mind too, as it expands, needs forms of language that go beyond the rational and the prosaic, and which mirror our fragmented, highly metaphoricaland moment-to-moment perception of life itself."
Let us share some time dedicated to exploring his poetry alongside poems by other poets to discuss a range of different perspectives and styles on his ideas.
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Start your morning with a burst of creativity at the Poetry Pharmacy London! Join poet Laurie Bolger for a relaxed, playful session of free flow writing in our lush first-floor space on Oxford Street. All stationery and tea are provided - just bring yourself and your imagination. Newbies very welcome; no experience needed!
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Join poet Chrys Salt and musician Richard Ingham for an evening exploring the richness and complexity of North East India
Rooted in Chrys Salt’s highly regarded collection The Punkawallah’s Rope and born of her performance at the Kolkata Book Fair and an immersive month in Kolkata and North East India, The Punkawallah’s Rope explores the vibrant textures, voices, and contradictions of a continent both dazzling and daunting.
Through layered poems and haunting instrumentals played on various Indian instruments - the aludu, the bansuri, gopi yantra by International musician and saxophonist Richard Ingham the performance poses the question:
How can a middle-class white woman begin to understand and engage with this most complex and challenging of continents?
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