Rachel Piercey – författare

Följ med Björn och hans vänner på en underbar upptäcktsfärd i skogen medan de planerar och förbereder ett födelsedagskalas för den stora eken. Upplev årstidernas skiftningar medan djuren skriver och skickar ut inbjudningskort, pyntar skogen och framför en teaterpjäs. På varje uppslag finns förtjusande och detaljrika illustrationer med massor att leta efter och upptäcka: djur, blommor, växter och andra spännande saker.

An anthology of instructional poems by modern poets dispensing advice on love, seduction, relationships and heartbreak. Produced to look like an old-fashioned schoolbook, complete with diagrams, the Poetic Guide professes to help while offering a combination of stone-cold wisdom and highly dubious romantic advice.With poems from Jo Brandon, John Canfield, Jade Cuttle, Mel Denham, Amy Key, Anja Konig, Cheryl Moskowitz, Abigail Parry, Rachel Piercey, Richard O'Brien, Christopher Reid, Jacqueline Saphra and Liane Strauss.Christopher Reid's most recent book is Six Bad Poets (Faber). Among his earlier publications, A Scattering was declared Costa Book of the Year 2009, while The Song of Lunch became a BBC2 film starring Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson. Andrew Wynn Owen won The Times Stephen Spender Prize in 2011 and a Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award in 2008. Liane Strauss teaches literature and creative writing at Birkbeck College and The Poetry School. She is the author of Leaving Eden (Salt Publishing, 2010) and Frankie, Alfredo (Donut Press, 2009). Abigail Parry was recently appointed Assistant editor at The Rialto magazine.

The poets write with searing honesty about the incredible strength and capacity for self-sacrifice demanded by motherhood, writing as parents as well as in relation to their own parents. The darkest thoughts of exhausted mothers are sensitively portrayed, as poets expose the weight of responsibility behind the hallowed state of motherhood, and question the expectations society places on mothers. This book gives voice to universal but usually silenced anxieties, showing mothers questioning their ability to raise their children correctly and sometimes struggling to connect with the creatures they have created. Heart-breaking and uplifting in equal measure, this book is a stunning and varied portrait of modern motherhood.

How does it feel to be a foreigner? Can you choose where you call home? What if you reject your home or your home rejects you? Homesickness and Exile is a fascinating collection of poems about the fundamental human need to belong to a place, as poets from across the world provide profound and moving insights into the emotional pull of countries and cities. Poems about homecoming, departure and both voluntary and involuntary exile provoke reflections on alienation and identity, and a recurring theme is the yearning for a sense of belonging and acceptance by a place. This anthology is inspired by the Tristia, a collection of poems written by the Roman poet Ovid after he was banished from Rome by the Emperor for an unknown misdemeanour. Homesickness and Exile expands on Ovid's themes and considers spiritual as well as physical exile in the modern world, with poets writing about rootlessness and geographical ennui.

Rachel Piercey charms and disturbs in her first full-length pamphlet, which considers the frailty of human relationships and makes a strong case for approaching life with an open mind and a generous spirit. These are poems which recognise and dip into cynicism but never fully yield, and that Piercey's sharp, unflinching world view still leaves room for romance is both glorious and heart-rending. This is a beautiful collection of poems about love, identity and home.

The Emma Press Anthology of Dance is a celebration of dance and the role it plays in people's lives. This lively collection considers the formal occasions where dancing is expected – weddings, school discos and office parties – as well as the impromptu moments where dancing is drawn from us on a more primal level. Flirting in the kitchen that becomes a shuffle choreographed by intimacy; a weary couple who find solace in a drunken half-stumble half-jig. What makes us start dancing? Why do we ever stop? This anthology examines the defiance and drama of dancing both on stage and off, capturing the passion and exhilaration of rhythmic motion to music.

Falling Out Of The Sky is a treasury of poems which retell classic myths, legends and fairytales from across the world. Hansel and Gretel’s witch takes us behind the scenes of the construction of her gingerbread cottage, and Medusa explains how the snakes on her head rule out a lot of options in everyday life – wearing a hat, for example. Full of alternate viewpoints and spirited new versions of old stories, Falling Out The Sky is a friendly introduction to poetry as well as the joy of literature. In tales about the beginning of time to the end of the world, poets and characters speak directly to the readers, revelling in the possibilities of storytelling. These are poems which parents can read aloud to younger children, and which older children can read to themselves, delighting in the mischief and invention of the poets.

Urban Myths and Legends is a lively collection of poems by modern poets who have taken inspiration from the Roman poet Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The poems all tell stories which include a transformation – some inspired directly by the Metamorphoses and some completely new and of our time. Wings sprout, leaves fall and no state is certain, as the poets channel Ovid’s mischief and whisper tales of just and unjust deserts.

Aren’t mildly erotic things the most erotic of all? Sometimes eroticism isn’t just about sex – it can be about anticipation, desire, intimacy and romance. It can be wild, hilarious, beautiful and alarming, and it may be hard to define but you’ll know it when you see it. Mildly Erotic Verse skips the mechanics and dives straight into the emotional core of sex, celebrating the diversity and eccentricity of human sexuality.

How big is the universe? Are there dogs in space? What if your friend – or your granddad – was an alien? Join the poets in wondering in Watcher of the Skies, a sparkling collection of poems about the outermost possibilities of space, life and our imaginations. Fully illustrated by Emma Wright and accompanied with helpful facts from space scientist Rachel Cochrane (Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh) and ideas for writing poems from Rachel Piercey, this is the perfect companion for any budding stargazer or astronaut.

In The Emma Press Anthology of Love, that familiar four-letter word takes on a world of meanings. Love is written across the sky for the whole world to see, and whispered to a partner at the bus stop in the rain. Love is transcendent and love is everyday, found equally in steamy texts and shopping lists, and the only reliable thing about it is that it's never where you expected to find it. Building on the success of 2015's Mildly Erotic Verse, this book explores the diversity of modern romance. Often awkward, never perfect, romantic encounters and relationships are rooted in our own contemporary world of Tinder, Twitter and TV dinners. But they are also part of an enduring tradition: the cornerstone of our common humanity. In this book, thirty fresh, diverse and original voices speak to what love means right here, right now, bridging the gap between Hollywood imagery and modern lived experience.

At one remove from parental authority, aunts play a crucial role in the upbringing of children across the world. This anthology puts these women in the spotlight and explores what it means to be – and feels like to have – an aunt, historically and today. Some aunts are biological, some are chosen, but all have an impact on the way we learn to move through the world. Poets in this volume tell stories of glamorous confidants, akin to older siblings, and of older women, tough and worldly-wise, who offer their nieces and nephews a different perspective on life. Above all, the book restores their centrality to young people’s development and to family life.

In 1940, a young girl is taken from her home in Eastern Poland to Arkhangelsk, Siberia; in 1942, she boards a train. Seventy years later, that journey is reimagined by her granddaughter, Zosia Kuczyńska. As Kuczyńska’s poems tell the story of her babcia, her maternal grandmother, coming to England, she confronts some of the big questions of art and history: how do you tell another person’s story without exploiting it? What’s at stake when we try make patterns out of the past, and can we ever leave those patterns behind? Kuczyńska’s poems are both richly narrative and sharply attentive to the complexities of home and culture. They capture human endurance through the redrawing of political maps, from ‘the heat of Easter in Tehran’ to the powdered eggs and stocking shortages of the London Blitz.

Which King had a mischievous pet monkey? Which ruthless Queen enjoyed toasting people to a crisp? Whose reign lasted only nine days? The Head That Wears A Crown is a captivating collection that features the Kings and Queens of the British Isles as you’ve never seen them before.Read Queen Victoria’s Twitter posts and young Elizabeth I’s letters to her father’s latest wife. Hear the muddy marching song of King Harold’s soldiers and learn which royal was Danish as a pastry, but nothing like as sweet! Intriguing, comical and accompanied by fascinating historical facts, these vibrant poems are a joy to read, bringing a long line of daring and devious monarchs to life.

Rakhshan Rizwan's debut collection simmers with a poised, driving anger. Drawing on the rich visual and material culture of her home region, Rizwan unpacks and offers critical comment on the vexed issues of class, linguistic and cultural identity – particularly for women – in the context of Pakistan and South Asia. She writes about the hypocrisy of the men who claim to worship women, the nuances of using Urdu or Hindi, and the many contradictions of the city of her birth, Lahore. As well as startling free verse, Rizwan's many accomplished ghazals both explore and demonstrate her fascination with multilingualism, code-switching, displacement and belonging. The poems in Paisley are an unflinchingly feminist assault on received ideas about womanhood which present the reader with often-uncomfortable truths.

My woodland's full of animals, of every different kind.So shall we stay here for a while and see what we can find?Join Bear on his journey through the year with lots of friends to meet, places to explore and things to spot along the way.Each spread focuses on a respective season:- Spring spreads include Bear's World, Home Sweet Home, School Days, Bunny's Birthday- Summer spreads include Sports Day, High Summer, Swimming Lessons, Bear's Picnic, Putting on a Play- Autumn spreads include: Goodbye Party, Rainy Day, Art Class, Bear's Campfire- Winter spreads include: Winter Sports, Bear's Winter Feast, Bear's Bedtime A first poetry book for children aged 5+ that reflects the changing seasons, weather and the nature that can be found all around us.· Engaging spotting activity for young children, with spreads themed around an event set in the magical woodland, and a cast of woodland friends to follow, scene to scene· Perfect spring gift book which builds an immersive, tender world and encourages the reader to look at the natural world around them with wonder and delight· Features back matter on a nature trail to get children outside and poetry and nature resources for inside Words of praise for The Brown Bear Wood Series"A simple introduction to poetry, perfectly aimed at young children, that will be loved and enjoyed for a long time." - Independent's Best Kids Poetry Book 2021"A tour de force of interactive two-dimensional nature." - Kirkus starred review"A simple yet magical first book of poetry." - The Telegraph

Follow Bear as he sets off on an exciting Easter egg hunt adventure with his friends in the forest. Can you help them? Set to rollicking rhyming text with 100 eggs to find and count. The perfect Easter gift – full of the joys of Spring!

Follow Bear as he sets off on a festive Christmas present hunt adventure with his friends in the forest. Can you help them? Set to rollicking rhyming song with twelve presents to find and count. The perfect Christmas gift – full of the joys of Winter!

Welcome friends and settle in there's lots to do and seeas I tell you the story of our oldest, wisest tree... With its gnarled trunk, giant branches and glossy leaves, Grand Old Oak is Bear's favourite tree in the woodland. When Bear learns that Oak is five hundred years old, he decides to plan an extra-special birthday ball.In this first storybook of poetry, join Bear and his friends through the seasons as they prepare a magical birthday party, with lots of things to spot along the way.· An immersive, cosy world that encourages little ones to look at nature around them and step into a world of imaginative play, where animals do just as a child would: play games, enjoy a party, go on a picnic and experience each season of life· Engaging spotting activity for young children, with spreads themed around Oak's birthday party set in the magical woodland, and a familiar cast of woodland friends to follow· A sure hit for fans of the well-loved first book in the series, If You Go Down to the Woods Today· Perfect birthday gift book which builds an immersive, tender world and encourages the reader to look at the natural world around them with wonder and delight Words of praise for The Brown Bear Wood Series"A simple introduction to poetry, perfectly aimed at young children, that will be loved and enjoyed for a long time." - Independent's Best Kids Poetry Book 2021"A tour de force of interactive two-dimensional nature." - Kirkus starred review"A simple yet magical first book of poetry." - The Telegraph

A heartwarming animal rhyming story with the 'ahh' factor from the bestselling Brown Bear Wood series.Join Bear and Papa Bear as they spend a glorious day together in the woods. As Bear finds and counts one hundred hearts gifted from his dad, a child can join along, too, as the gentle, rhyming text reinforces the importance of being yourself and being comfortable in your own skin. No matter what Bear does or who is he, Papa Bear loves him unconditionally.This board book for children ages 2+ features:-A gorgeous cover with red foil-100 hearts to find and count-Gentle, rhyming text from acclaimed poet Rachel Piercey-Intricate illustrations from bestselling artist Freya Hartas, little ones will find new things to spot every timeCelebrating the unconditional love between a parent and child, this chunky board book makes a wonderful gift or is perfect for sharing with your special little person as part of daily affirmations.Look out for other board books in the Brown Bear Wood series, The Great Egg Hunt and Twelve Days of Christmas.Praise for If You Go Down to the Woods Today:'A simple introduction to poetry, perfectly aimed at young children, that will be loved and enjoyed for a long time', The Independents Best Kids' Poetry Book 2021'A simple yet magical first book of poetry', The Telegraph