Stars in his eyes

Sibyls , the book born of Ruth Fainlight’s poems and Leonard Baskin’s prints, became a memento of friendship, beauty and sorrow for its author

NATALIE had done it again: spoken without thinking. Honestly, she sometimes thought she consisted of two people. There was the sensible Natalie who recycled her cardboard, and an inner, loose-lipped N

‘They shut me up in Prose – As when a little Girl They put me in the Closet – Because they liked me “still”.’ The words (and eccentric capitalisation) are Emily Dickinson’s, the opening salvo in a bol

IT was the same mother and child Gwen had smiled at earlier in the street, when she’d been heading for her afternoon shift at the charity shop. The only difference was, they both looked very tired. Th

RESIDENTS in a Cockermouth care home are about to publish their first poetry book. The collection of poems – written by residents of Hames Hall Residential Care Home – will be released in the summer.

I LIFT my head to the weak sun and give thanks for having survived another winter. It’s good to see the lane is passable, even if there are ruts and puddles. However, I can still see the bones of icy,