Boatwhistle Books – förlag

Every now and then -- but rarely -- there emerges a poet so startlingly original and unlike any other that they seem to have evolved in isolation on some island of their own, far from the literary mainland. Ernest Noyes Brookings is one such poet. Brookings is the ultimate late starter: never having written poetry before, he began in his eighties to produce verses on a daily basis, with a quiet intensity and single-mindedness, while resident at a nursing home in Massachusetts. In the seven years until his death in 1987, he produced around 300 poems on subjects such as power tools, white worms, after-dinner mints, Vermont in winter and the death penalty. Despite being written with no thought of an audience or publication, Brookings’s poems nevertheless did gain a devoted following among the readers of The Duplex Planet, the small magazine in which the majority were published. The Golden Rule now presents all of the poems in a single volume. With a biographical memoir by David Greenberger (the man who first encouraged Brookings to write), an appreciation by the legendary Al Ackerman and an appendix describing Brookings’s unique writing process, this book commemorates a truly distinctive and enjoyable writer.

Off the Beaten Track presents new work by twelve writers taking part in a unique collaborative project: each of them was invited to compose one haiku per day for a month, thus contributing towards the total of 365 haiku for a full calendar year. Half of the authors are widely published writers of haiku, while the other half are almost (or entirely) new to the form. This situates the collection within the tradition of English-language haiku, while also seeking to extend its boundaries through the inclusion of ‘outsiders’ with respect to that tradition. Complementing the haiku are original illustrations by twelve artists, making the volume as visually striking as it is thought-provoking and diverse.

The vivid, passionately wrought poems of Beautiful Nowhere encompass themes of childhood trauma, madness, dissociation, psychosis and even an exorcism. Louisa Campbell's sure handling of these dark and difficult themes draws upon five decades of experience, ensuring the poems' unflinching honesty, empathy and authenticity in depicting extreme states of mind. Yet these are poems of joy as much as despair, always looking towards ‘the furthest we can see; a beautiful nowhere'.

The Lucky Leaf Handbook is the world's first guide to the game of catching leaves as they fall from the trees. T. E. P. Noodle is a pioneering 'lucky leafer' who has been playing the game for many years, and has applied that experience, along with immeasurable enthusiasm and an inimitable prose style, to produce a book that will appeal to anyone who enjoys the outdoors, or who simply likes stupendous writing. With bespoke illustrations and a range of photographs by the author, this is as attractive a book as it is compelling. Besides covering the main subject with a level of detail readers may not have thought possible for such a simple game, Noodle has a tendency to digress onto other subjects, making this not merely a dry guide to the game, but rather a compendious and entertaining book that is truly unlike any other, as befits a publishing house that aspires to produce 'singular books for singular readers'.

From his earliest recordings in the 1990s, it was clear that Alasdair Roberts was not only a powerful performer, but also a profoundly original songwriter. In the years since then, he has honed his craft across a series of albums that comprise a richly idiosyncratic body of work. Distinctive as they are musically, Alasdair’s songs are equally notable for their articulate, poetic and often moving lyrical qualities – now starkly symbolic, now allusively ornate. This book aims to showcase those qualities, with a selection of lyrics from across Alasdair’s songwriting catalogue. The lyrics are augmented by newly written notes by Alasdair, with original illustrations by Annabel Wright, plus a foreword by the acclaimed poet Robin Robertson, and several entertaining appendices.

The Enchiridion (‘handbook’) of Epictetus is one of the most well-known and best-loved works of ancient Greek literature. Based on the solid theoretical foundation of Stoic thought, this is indeed a highly accessible handbook giving practical advice on how to live a better life. It is as relevant now as ever it was. This pocket-size edition of the classic work is presented in a lucid, jargon-free new translation, with a thought-provoking introduction by contemporary philosopher Matthew Talbert. Typeset with Boatwhistle’s customary panache, this edition is as elegant as it is engrossing.