Poetry
Reviews
'An exceptionally gifted poet'
Scotsman
These poems are like handmade lace, detailed and accurate, carefully constructed with an unswerving eye for detail'
The North
Poems of painterly clarity graced by flawless craftsmanship and beauty of language. Tender yet tenacious, they wondrously enfold the fragility of our lives and make the heart soar'
Stewart Conn
About the Book
This remarkable collection explores the complex ways in which people and things are held - both metaphorically and physically - in the world. Through motifs of vessels and containers, Elizabeth Burns' exquisite and energetic poetry investigates the relationships between presence and absence, resilience and fragility. As delicate as they are vivid, the poems in 'Held' resonate with breathtaking emotional power. Previously published as a pamphlet, the central section of the collection, 'The Shortest Days', was winner of the 2009 Michael Marks Award for Poetry Pamphlets.
The Author
Elizabeth Burns
Elizabeth Burns was born in 1957, and brought up in Edinburgh. She has lived most of her life in Scotland, until moving to Lancaster a few years ago. While writing has been her primary drive in life, she has worked in various jobs whilst writing, including as a bookseller and for publishers. Since 1994 she has been teaching creative writing, for the Open College of the Arts, the University of Central Lancashire, and the Department of Continuing Education at Lancaster University. She has had three solo collections published - 'Ophelia and other poems' (Polygon, 1991), which was shortlisted for a Saltire Award for First Book of the Year, 'The Gift of Light' (Diehard, 1999) and 'The Lantern Bearers' (Shoestring, 2007) - and her work has appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines. Several of her short stories have been published and a collection of these and others is under consideration. Scotland's language, landscape, culture are abiding influences.Related
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Paperback | Pub: 21 Sep 2011£9.99During her career Liz Lochhead has been described variously as a poet, feminist playwright, translator and broadcaster but has said that ‘when somebody asks me what I do I usually say writer. The most precious thing to me is to be a poet. If I...
