Back in 1987 I was keen to have a book of poems published. I contacted Anthony Selbourne (not his real name, I discovered) who ran Making Waves Press from his home in Guildford. He financed his enterprise by cleaning offices overnight. He liked my stuff and a selection of poems was made. When the books arrived, they were not quite what I'd expected. They were handmade; some had white pages, some blue, some yellow. A friend called them my Basildon Bond books.
The title, The Loutra Hotel, refers to a rather dreary building on the Greek island of Nisyros. The hotel on the cover looks as if it should be somewhere in France. The poem titles were arranged artfully and repetitively across the cover. I never understood why National Service Children was included in the design. That poem was written by Anthony Selbourne!
Anyway, it was good to have a book (complete with spine) to add to my CV after about five years of writing. Unlike today, shops such as James Thin's and The Edinburgh Bookshop were happy to put a few copies on their shelves and it was quite widely reviewed. It cost a mere £1.75.
In the early 1991 Anthony produced Six Twentieth Century Poets in which I was delighted to be featured alongside Norman MacCaig, Peter Dale, Ken Smith, and others. There was a launch at the Poetry Library in London. And then we lost touch.
The world of poetry has changed much since then, and not always for the better.
I wonder if Anthony is still out there, somewhere. And not, I hope, cleaning offices.
Interesting and rather moving.
ReplyDeleteVery beautiful poem, as always. Yes, I am still out here and broadcast Poetry when I can through a small and very independent radio programme. 10 years on Shortwave and medium wave this year, made at home and still financed the same way. Not much change there! Take care, Stephen (AS).
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