New poetry book written in the French Alps during the Covid 19 lockdown

• 

A sensational debut book of poetry is published worldwide this week despite its writer and editor being in a pandemic lockdown in two different countries.

Poets Don’t Lie by first-time author Lucile Boudot was entirely penned in her home town St Cergues and university room in Grenoble – both perched high in the French Alps.

And it has been published by award winning editor Nic Outterside in Wolverhampton in the English West Midlands.

A remarkable achievement when you consider that both parties were in lockdown during the Covid 19 global pandemic and have never spoken with each other!

This transcendent work forms part of a personal journey out of darkness and into light, where love and theft are in constant conflict.

Within Poets Don’t Lie readers will find the thoughts and poetic musings of a young French woman trying to make sense of the world she inhabits, with mountains and spring snow as her backdrop.

But this young woman is exactly like anyone else. She has the same fears, the same loves, the same faults, the same frailties, the same hopes, the same passions and the same emotions; and these all come tumbling out in her unique poetry.

Lucile is an 18-year-old BA undergraduate in English Literature at Grenoble University, who like many other students around the world, found her studies interrupted by the Covid 19 pandemic.

She is an avid reader and writer in English and a campaigner on mental health issues. She also writes a widely read poetry page called anonymously_yours_xx on the internet social media platform Instagram and has over 1,000 followers.

“Life is full of things we don’t know how to talk about. We try to find the right words, but they never fit, or we feel like they don’t fit,” she says.

“Human beings can’t live without words because we live in a society where we are obligated to talk. I never find the right words or I feel like I don’t find the right words.

“But when I write poetry I always find the perfect words… and in this book you’ll find the words that define me.”

Nic, who owns the UK publishing house Time is an Ocean says: “Working with Lucile has been an utter pleasure. Her writing is so deeply filled with emotion and her use of English is stunning.

“I am very proud of this book, and of her. It is amazing what can be achieved by email, WhatsApp and Instagram,” he added.

“The added bonus is I now consider Lucile as a very close friend.”

Poets Don’t Lie is available in paperback priced at £7.99 (9.47euros) from most Amazon portals

www.amazon.co.uk/Poets-Dont-Lie-Lucile-Boudot/dp/B086MN6MPC/

www.amazon.fr/Poets-Dont-Lie-Lucile-Boudot/dp/B086MN6MPC/

A Kindle e-book edition ofPoets Don’t Lie is also available for £2.99 (3.41euros)  from all Amazon portals

www.amazon.co.uk/Poets-Dont-Lie-Lucile-Boudot-ebook/dp/B086RMGRBP/

www.amazon.fr/Poets-Dont-English-Lucile-Boudot-ebook/dp/B086RMGRBP/

Pardon Monsieur… Am I hearing You Right #3

THERE are few interviews I have ever conducted in my journalistic career quite as bizarre as the one with former Formula 1 World Champion Jackie Stewart.

The story may lose something in translation into print, but it has to be told.

It was sometime in 1996 and I had been running a short campaign at The Scotsman to support female race ace Sarah Kavanagh’s breakthrough into Formula 1.

I had already spoken at length with Sarah, her manager and her sponsors; and the day before had managed to tie down F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone for a few words.

Meanwhile, I had made a few bids for a telephone interview with Jackie Stewart or his son Paul.

Then the call came.

“Hello, is that Mr Oooterside?” said the voice at the end of the phone.

Before I could answer, I was deafened by a “Whooooorrrrr roooooshh errrrrrrrrr.” The unmistakeable noise of a Formula 1 racing engine.

“Sorry, we are on practice,” said the voice again.

Then another: Whooooorrrrr roooooshh errrrrrrrrr.

“Hello, Mr Stewart, it is Nic Outterside. I would like to ask you about Sarah Kavanagh,” I replied.

Whooooorrrrr roooooshh errrrrrrrrr.

“It’s not a good line,” said Jackie Stewart.

Whooooorrrrr roooooshh errrrrrrrrr.

“Sarah who?” he added.

Whooooorrrrr roooooshh errrrrrrrrr.

“Sarah Kavanagh,” I almost shouted back.

Whooooorrrrr roooooshh errrrrrrrrr.

“We are in Spain testing a new engine,” replied Jackie.

Whooooorrrrr roooooshh errrrrrrrrr.

“Well, do you think Sarah is good enough to make it in Formula 1?” I asked.

Whooooorrrrr roooooshh errrrrrrrrr.

“Yes, but I think you ought to speak to Paul,” came the answer.

Whooooorrrrr roooooshh errrrrrrrrr.

“He’ll be here in a while.”

Whooooorrrrr roooooshh errrrrrrrrr.

“What’s the weather like back home?”

Whooooorrrrr roooooshh errrrrrrrrr.

You will get the drift by now.

I interviewed Jackie Stewart for a full 15 minutes and his son Paul for a further five minutes.

When the phone call was over, I looked at my shorthand notebook.

Deafened by the interruptions of “Whooooorrrrr roooooshh errrrrrrrrr”, the only things I had established were that Jackie Stewart was testing a new F1 engine with his son Paul, somewhere in Spain; they had both heard of Sarah Kavanagh; the weather was warmer in Spain than in Scotland and they were travelling onto France later in the week… the rest of the interview was lost somewhere in translation.