Poetry – No Time to Think

Swedish punk poet publishes her debut book of “in your eyes” rap poetry to global acclaim

A Swedish punk poet and single mum has published her first paperback book of experimental rap poetry to worldwide acclaim.

Josefin Friberg, 34, is a free-spirited multi-lingual woman carving out her life from a basement apartment in lower Gothenburg (Göteborg) – known locally as Little London.

She is a punk, rap poet, visual artist and a restorer/upcycler of furniture, a half marathon runner and a mental health survivor.

And now she is a globally published poet. Her debut book Pharmacy Pills and Poetry has been met with rave reviews.

One British reviewer described it as: “Pharmacy hits you in your eyes, where it will smart, sting and cause unexpected tears.”

Another US poetry reviewer said: “Josefin’s poetry scores where it hurts. It is both immediate and effective. The best debut book of verse I have read this year.”

Josefin’s poetry reflects her life as she surrounds herself with her love for her son and a tapestry of music from the soul and jazz of Elmore James, Nina Simone, Amy Winehouse, Etta James and Gladys Knight to reggae, punk and more contemporary rap and grunge sounds such as The Streets.

The book’s editor Nic Outterside said: “Josefin’s poetry is truly unique and embraces human emotions and experiences using a brilliant punk spirit.

“One of the most magical books I have ever edited.

“Pharmacy may take you to places you never expected to go… but once visited, you will want to return.”

Pharmacy Pills and Poetry is available via most global Amazon outlets priced at £5.99, (7.54 euros, US$8.16) or your local equivalent in your own country.

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09GJMCFJJ/

www.amazon.com/dp/B09GJMCFJJ/

www.amazon.de/dp/B09GJMCFJJ/

www.amazon.fr/dp/B09GJMCFJJ/

www.amazon.ca/dp/B09GJMCFJJ/

Unique anthology of words and pictures from 21st century India

A unique anthology of words and pictures from contemporary India has this week been published worldwide in e-book and paperback.

The collection was created by 10 young writers and a roving photographer from all corners of the vast country and published by award-winning editor in the UK.

The book of poetry, prose, and black & white photography captures modern life and humanity in Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Jaipur, Bhiwandi, Cuttack, Kerala and elsewhere.

The project took eight months to complete, with all contributors working through the pandemic lockdown restrictions. Two members of the team were hospitalised during this period but are now both fully recovered.

After 28 years in UK newspaper and magazine journalism multi award-winning editor Nic Outterside set up his own publishing house Time is an Ocean in 2017.

Nic said: “I began editing and publishing books by Indian writers right from the outset of my company.

“A highlight was the widely acclaimed Asian Voices anthology in early 2019, which included 20 writers from India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

“The idea of doing something more current and focused by young people from India came from one of the readers Neelakshi Sharma from Jaipur.

“Neelakshi was just 17 and still at school when she shared her idea. Now she has followed it through over 22 months to publication.”

“Spiced Dreams and Scented Schemes has been a true labour of love and I hope everyone who buys our book revels at the diverse writing and the wonderful photography.”

Inspirational student Neelakshi says: “Working with Nic and all these amazing poets and a very talented photographer was something I never imagined. I am beyond happy to be a part of this book.”

Bhavani Krishna, a computer graduate and published author from Chennai in south east India added: “I always wanted to work with Nic after reading Asian Voices and when I got the chance to be a part of this anthology, it’s nothing less than a dream come true moment for me.”

Ayesha Saleem, 20, an English Literature and Philosophy student from Bhiwandi, near Mumbai said: “It has been a great experience to work with Nic and the other Indian poets. I am grateful to be a part of this successful project which we all worked so hard towards.”

Rachel Vincent, 23, an editor and writer from Delhi said: “I have loved working with people from all different cultures and backgrounds and am obliged and overwhelmed for an opportunity to be published internationally.”

Arpita Priyadarsini, a 21-year-old statistics graduate from Cuttack in eastern India added: “It was an amazing experience as I got to work with Nic for the second time. “This book is really close to my heart and we all have tried our best to bring forward everything that will touch your hearts and leave an impact on your life.”

Economics graduate Trijya Garg from Ghaziabad said: “I am a 26-year-old dreamer, and this book has been better than my wildest dreams that have come true. I am humbled to be one of the Indian daughters that poured her heart and soul into words in this book.”

Yusrah Shaikh, an English Literature undergraduate from Bhiwandi said: “I’m honoured to be included in this beautiful book. Through this anthology I got to know many other poets in my own country. It was such a great experience to be part of this.”

Deblina Bhattacharya, 21, an undergraduate student of English literature and published author from Kolkata said: “It has been my immense pleasure to have been a part of this anthology as well as this incredibly supportive community.

“Working with Nic, who has been a long-time friend and the young poets from all over India has been a highly cherished experience.

“I almost missed out on this opportunity when I was abruptly hospitalised amidst all the proceedings, and there wasn’t a day I didn’t cry to have it back.

“It seems it was fate who brought me back to this amazing book once again, a book that is a dream come true; a collection shaped by our struggles, tears, blood and sweat, and our indomitable hope.”

Spiced Dreams and Scented Schemes is available as 6”x9” large format paperback and as a Kindle e-book from most Amazon global portals:

Paperback priced at $8.23 (602 IR) (£5.99)

www.amazon.com/dp/B0917T8PK2

Kindle e-book priced at $4.11 (300 IR) (£2.99)

www.amazon.in/dp/B0916FQX9P

Utah poet and artist is part of new global series of poetry books

A US poet, artist and home carer has penned the fourth book in a new worldwide series of affordable cutting-edge poetry books.

Spanish born Jairo Dealba (30) who lives in Utah, said he was delighted that his book Sonnets was chosen to help kick start the international series.

“It’s the thrill and an honour to have my own book of sonnets published alongside so many highly regarded international poets,” he added.

UK based publisher Nic Outterside’s Cast Iron Poetry series aims to recreate the world-famous City Lights publications of the 1950s and 60s; in an effort to make printed poetry affordable for everyone.

The new series of books, which retail at just £3.50 each (US$4.88), include the work of contributors from places as diverse as New York, Kolkata, Oklahoma, Austria, Paris, Miami, Chennai, Delhi, London, Merseyside and California.

The books will be published world-wide at regular five-week intervals throughout the year, in a not-for-profit venture.

More than 60 years ago, set against a post-war US government, the City Lights Pocket Poets books shared the counter-culture thoughts of Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs and others to millions of people who believed their own voices were unheard.

Apart from Ginsberg’s seven collections, many of the early Pocket Poets volumes have attained the status of classics. These include: True Minds by Marie Ponsot (1957), Golden Sardine by Bob Kaufman (1969) and Revolutionary Letters by Diane di Prima (1971).

Now Cast Iron Poetry hopes to do the same for writers in this third decade of the 21^st century.

Even the simple monochrome design of the book jackets mirror the early City Lights publications.

The first book in the series – published in November 2020 – was penned by Nic himself and titled Reality Cornflakes in a deliberate homage to Ginsberg’s 1963 pocketbook Reality Sandwiches.

The second book A Moon Magnetized This Screeching Bird by revered New York poet A.i. Firefly ensured that the Cast Iron Poetry series had an early global feel and the third book The Arbitrary Fractals of and Oracle by Merseyside poet Cassie Fielding added a surreal aspect to the series.

After 28 years in UK newspaper and magazine journalism award winning editor Nic took early retirement in 2013.

In 2015, he set up his own publishing house – Time is an Ocean – and Sonnets is his 19^th published book. The book includes a short eulogy Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the founder of City Lights, who sadly died as Sonnets was going to press.

Nic said: “The idea for these books came after random discussions with other writers and editors, and suddenly we had a global team of like-minded creative artists.

“None of us will make any money from this venture. The £3.50 UK price point just about covers printing and publishing costs. Cast Iron Poetry is a true labour of love to make modern printed poetry affordable to all.”

Sonnets and other books in the Cast Iron Poetry series are all available as (5”x8”) pocket paperbacks.

Priced at £3.50 (US$4.88) (CDN$6.21) (e4.05) from most Amazon global portals:

St Helens writer forms part of new worldwide poetry series

A Merseyside writer, single mum and home educator has penned the third book in a new worldwide series of affordable cutting-edge poetry books.

Cassie Fielding (40) from St Helens, said she was ecstatic that her book The Arbitrary Fractals of and Oracle was chosen to help kick start the international series.

“It’s the thrill of a lifetime to have my own book of surrealistic poetry published alongside so many highly regarded international poets,” she added.

Wolverhampton based publisher Nic Outterside’s Cast Iron Poetry series aims to recreate the world-famous City Lights publications of the 1950s and 60s; in an effort to make printed poetry affordable for everyone.

The new series of books, which retail at just £3.50 each, include the work of contributors from places as diverse as New York, Utah, Oklahoma, Austria, Paris, India, Miami, London and California.

The books will be published world-wide at regular five-week intervals throughout the year, in a not-for-profit venture.

Now Cast Iron Poetry hopes to do the same for writers in this third decade of the 21^st century.

Even the simple monochrome design of the book jackets mirror the early City Lights publications.

The second book A Moon Magnetized This Screeching Bird by revered New York poet A.i. Firefly ensured that the Cast Iron Poetry series had an early global feel.

After 28 years in UK newspaper and magazine journalism award winning editor Nic took early retirement in 2013.

In 2015, he set up his own publishing house – Time is an Ocean – and the Cast Iron Poetry.

The Arbitrary Fractals of and Oracle is his 18^th published book.

Nic said: “The idea for these books came after random discussions with some of the poets who took part in my earlier anthologies. “They in turn introduced me to others and suddenly we had a global team of like-minded cutting-edge writers.

“Then to get the brilliant Cassie Fielding to pen the third book was a fantastic bonus.

“None of us will make any money from this venture. The £3.50 price point just about covers printing and publishing costs. Cast Iron Poetry is a true labour of love to make modern printed poetry affordable to all.”

Reality Cornflakes, A Moon Magnetized this Screeching Bird and The Arbitrary Fractals of an Oracle are all available as (5”x8”) pocket paperbacks.

Priced at £3.50 from Amazon.co.uk

www.amazon.co.uk/Reality-Cornflakes-Cast-Iron-Poetry/dp/B08NM4XTGQ/

www.amazon.co.uk/Moon-Magnetized-This-Screeching-Bird/dp/B08RH4521J/

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08VYFJS39/

Bereaved daughter releases stunning book of poetry and photos in tribute to her father

A bereaved young woman has published a unique book of poetry and photographs as part of her eight-year long process of understanding the loss of her dad.

The book Dissect my Fragile Brain by Londoner Kim Yudelowitz, 24, explores human grief in three stages: Loss, Love and Life.

Kim was just 16 when her beloved father and well-known dentist Leor, 57, died from cancer in 2013.

His death hit the whole family hard and after seeking help and support from grief counsellors, Kim began her own homage to her father which involved exhibitions of photographic art-work, public speaking and writing reams of intense personal poetry.

She did most of this while completing her A’Levels at JFS and studying for an honours degree in Comparative Literature at Queen Mary University Of London.

“Poetry has been my way of channelling my emotions and dealing with the significant loss of my dad. Writing is therapeutic for me and allows me to visualise my emotions by writing them down and having them eternally in writing for everyone to read and know how much I love my dad,” says Kim of Mill Hill in North West London.

Now she has compiled a heart-rending book as a culmination of her homage.

The book has been edited and published by Wolverhampton based editor Nic Outterside

After 28 years in newspaper and magazine journalism Nic took early retirement in 2013. During those years he scooped more than a dozen major press awards and in 2016 was awarded an honorary doctorate for his services to written journalism.

Following retirement Nic set up his own publishing house – Time is an Ocean – and Dissect my Fragile Brain is his seventeenth paperback publication.

Two earlier books – Death in Grimsby and Bones both became Amazon best-sellers.

Nic said: “It has been one of the joys of my editing life to work together with Kim on this project.

“Everyone experiences loss and grief at some point in their lives. But to have that happen while still a young teenager is particularly hard.

“But for Kim to turn that loss to something so positive is remarkable. Her book is truly a thing of beauty.”

Kim added: “Working with Nic has been a wonderful experience. As someone who hopes to pursue a career in book publishing it has been amazing to be so present in the putting together of my book. I just hope people read my words and gain more clarity on the concept of grief and start conversing more about losing loved ones and ending the taboo around speaking about death.”

Dissect my Fragile Brain isavailable as a paperback book priced at £7.99 from Amazon portals worldwide.

A formal launch of the book will take place on 12^th March – the anniversary of Leor’s death.

www.amazon.co.uk/Dissect-My-Fragile-Brain-Poems/dp/B08SGWD3Q5/

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/

Award winning writer’s tenth release now available in Kindle e-book edition

BLOG Metal New Front

SEVEN years after suffering a career ending nervous breakdown, an award-winning journalist-turned-author has now published his tenth paperback as a Kindle e-book.

The book Hot Metal – Poems from the Print Room draws its genesis and inspiration from his years in the newspaper and magazine industry.

Multi award-winning writer Nic Outterside quit his 28 year career in journalism following the breakdown in June 2013.

He began the slow road to recovery under the watchful eyes of his doctor and the support of his family. Part of the suggested therapy was for him to begin writing and talking about his life experiences.

His first paperback book The Hill – Songs and Poems of Darkness and Light, published in November 2014, was met with international acclaim and the first 1,000 print edition has almost sold out.

In 2018, he published its sequel Another Hill – Songs and Poems of Love and Theft.

In between time he also found time to write and publish a slim volume of poems in homage to the songs of his favourite album Blood on the Tracks by Bob Dylan.

Then at the helm of his own publishing house Time is an Ocean, Nic started editing other people’s books, including a magnum opus Asian Voices and a widely acclaimed Luminance – Words for a World Gone Wrong.

He also wrote and published two Amazon best sellers: Death in Grimsby and Bones.

Now, while completing a huge book of investigative journalism tales (to be published later this spring), Nic has returned to poetry with his new book: Hot Metal – Poems from the Print Room.

He explains its genesis: “In 1993, during my early years in newspaper journalism we would take time out every Thursday afternoon after that week’s paper hit the presses.

“I was chief reporter of an editorial team responsible for putting together the news, sport and features for one of Scotland’s most highly regarded county newspapers: The Galloway Gazette.

“This was our two hour sojourn before we began planning the following week’s edition. It was a time to escape from “Cow Halts Traffic on A75”, “Young Mum Guilty of Shoplifting at Woolworths” and similar stories to find solace and creativity in my self-centred pastime of poetry.

“So I would sit, with a mug of coffee in my hand and scribble some ideas, a few lines, and if I was particularly creative maybe a whole poem. The poems would never be read by anyone else… it was my secret hobby.

“Then by the end of last year, I suddenly realised I had more than enough poems to fill yet another book!

“They reflect the real me that has emerged seven years on from that breakdown and 27 years since those first doodles on a Thursday afternoon at the Galloway Gazette.

“The book is a litany of love, loss and angst fermented with the ideas that swam around my head all those years ago.”

Hot Metal – Poems from the Print Room was released as a large format paperback from Amazon priced £7.99 ($10.42) on 20 January.

www.amazon.co.uk/Hot-Metal-Poems-Print-Room/dp/166168064X/

www.amazon.com/Hot-Metal-Poems-Print-Room/dp/166168064X/

Now nine days later it is also available as a Kindle e-book priced just £2.99 ($3.90) (279IR)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hot-Metal-Poems-Print-Room-ebook/dp/B0848R591F/

https://www.amazon.com/Hot-Metal-Poems-Print-Room-ebook/dp/B0848R591F/

https://www.amazon.in/Hot-Metal-Poems-Print-Room-ebook/dp/B0848R591F/

Notes:

Nic Outterside is an award-winning editor, journalist and author. Among more than a dozen awards to his name are North of England Daily Journalist of the Year, Scottish Weekly Journalist of the Year, Scottish Daily Journalist of the Year and a special national award for investigative journalism. He was twice editor of Weekly Newspaper of the Year. In 2016 he was awarded an honorary doctorate in written journalism.
During his career, Nic was editor of The Argyllshire Advertiser, The Buchan Observer, The Galloway Gazette and the Denbighshire Free Press.

Award winning writer publishes tenth book since nervous breakdown

SEVEN years after suffering a career ending nervous breakdown, an award-winning journalist-turned-author has published his tenth paperback book.

And the book Hot Metal – Poems from the Print Room draws its genesis and inspiration from his years in the newspaper and magazine industry.