Description
The lockdown of 2020 has presented a time to think. To consider the good, the bad, the haves and the have-nots, what’s lost and been found. This short collection observes individual loses and gains through a lens, seeing what’s going, gone, and what unexpected treasures emerge as we walk this untrodden path. In a world of chaos, these poems help us reconnect over common ground, through the shared experiences brought about in these unreal times.
About Vic Pickup
Vic Pickup lives in Hampshire, England, with her husband and three children. A previous winner of the Café Writers and Cupid’s Arrow competitions, her poetry has appeared in anthologies, magazines and online, including Mslexia, Ink, Sweat & Tears and Reach Poetry. In 2019, Vic’s tongue-in-cheek poem about motherhood was shortlisted for the National Poetry Day #speakyourtruthpoem competition. A keen reviewer, Vic regularly writes for Sphinx and Everybody’s Reviewing; she is also a regular on BBC Berkshire radio. In 2018, Vic co-founded the Inkpot Writer’s Group near Reading, where she is an active member of the town’s poetry circle. Lost & Found is Vic’s debut publication. She is currently working on her first collection, The Omniscient Tooth Fairy, due to be published in 2021. @vicpickup www.vicpickup.com
“Vic Pickup’s direct and empathic poetry captures moments, voices and relationships without a filter, finding that what is ‘normal was more beautiful all along’ – it doesn’t need any enhancement. Pickup finds an intense, sometimes painful, beauty in a whole range of ‘normals’ – from one man’s wartime grief, to a mother’s sense of loss, to a dog’s joy in splashing. To appreciate these many strange and wonderful ‘normals, ‘ Pickup says that all we have to do is stand ‘outside in the world and listen’ for what seems ‘like / the first time’ – and that’s exactly what her poetry does.”
- Jonathan Taylor, author, poet & lecturer
“‘Lost & Found’ is just the right title for this, Vic Pickup’s first pamphlet. In it the poems not only echo with things lost and things found, but through a refreshing and original lens, they see the invisible and speak the unsayable.
They are an anthem to humanity that focus in on the absolutes of life: war, dementia, lockdown, the need for sudden joy, loss in a variety of forms, and gain too. Even a daughter’s toys imaginatively consigned to history reverberate down the years insisting their presence in a new now – a world seen afresh – without ever losing sight of what the poet holds true.
A stunning, thoughtful debut.”
- Claire Dyer, novelist & poet
“Dylan Thomas said the mark of good poetry was language that lifts on the page and the poems of Vic Pickup’s first pamphlet positively leap with the poet’s verve and originality of expression. Whether the author is trying to resist the urge to jump into a river with a playful pup, taking delight in watching bird peck, or describing a gardener tending a perfect pink peony – the energy of the resulting poem is irresistible. This is a poet who has a rich palate to draw from, making each poem a vivid and luminous experience. A poet with great skill for both narrative and imagery. ‘Lost & Found’ is a joy to read.”
- Anna Saunders, poet & Executive Director of Cheltenham Poetry Festival
Product details
- Paperback : 26 pages
- ISBN-10 : 191349960X
- ISBN-13 : 978-1913499600
- Product Dimensions : 14.81 x 0.15 x 21.01 cm
- Official Release Date: 11th November 2020
- Order Signed Copies direct from Vic Pickup HERE
Brian McManus –
Vic Pickup’s “Lost and Found” is a wholly magnanimous collection of fine poetry. The poet dissects her subject matter with honesty and precision, allowing her words to unfold with great humanity, and being patient in permitting those words to execute their raison d’etre in a pithy and robust manner. There is no coercion here by the poet. The language is framed in such a manner as to embolden the reader to search for and discover layers of meaning which may not immediately be obvious, while at all times remaining accessible, bountiful and beautiful.
The mark of a fine poet is to be able to draw out from ostensible minutiae any subterranean meaning with a certain poise and with coherent purpose, and Vic Pickup is both insightful and profound in so doing. In a wonderfully subliminal sense, as you journey through this poetry and uncover its wide compass, the reader is encouraged to consider and perhaps re-examine concepts and perspectives from a range of oblique angles.
In short, this is poetry that will make the reader think, and set that reader off on an inexorable journey of discovery of their own. It’s poetry that you will come back to, time and again, and I recommend it to you.
Brian McManus.
Poet, author, reviewer.
Patricia M Osborne –
A lovely poetry collection
Gripped from the first poem and it doesn’t disappoint throughout the collection. My favourite was ‘Lost and Found’ which I found particularly moving. The pamphlet is bound in a wonderful cover. I’d highly recommend to buy for yourself or as a gift.