With the publication of this special book, Moira Andrew will be celebrating a remarkable achievement, 101 books published in a variety of genres. This is more than a collection of poetry, it is more than a selection of recipes. It is about the sharing and giving of food, the ritual of cooking and baking. It is about the pleasure and sometimes the conflict of sitting down to meals with a partner and with family, and it is in many respects an insight into one woman’s relationship with the food she prepares in her kitchen.
Susan Jane Sims, editor and publisher
Pour a little poetry in a pan, heat over a gentle flame and you will find home somewhere between page and the plate. Moira and Jenny have together whipped up a delicious and cosy selection for body and mind. An absolute pleasure!
Susannah Violette, poet
ISBN: 978-1-909404-43-4 Retail price £10.00
Sample poems:
GEESE AND DAUGHTERS
It’s preferable to raise geese than daughters
(Chinese proverb)
Geese? They strut
around the farmyard
sleek off-white
peering down
on their world from
haughty rooftop eyes.
Daughters? They kiss
you good-night from
wet pink mouths, dance
in your arms to jazz
on the radio, stamp
in red-cheeked fury.
They grow up, phone
to tell you stuff,
make sure you’re OK,
bake scones for you,
buy you flowers
for the kitchen table.
Give me daughters
any time. No doubt
geese are all very well
in their way, but
only those few who
lay golden eggs
merit a second thought.
Moira Andrew
A NICE CUP OF TEA
They tell me
I make a good cup of tea –
not that I’d know
I don’t drink the stuff,
can’t stand the smell,
astringent, sour, thoroughly
unappetising.
I’ve brewed tea
first thing in the morning
for the men in my life –
and for my daughter,
a compulsive tea-Jenny
(well-named) She takes it
milky, by the bucketful.
I remember making tea
for my mother, bringing it
to her bedside, she in curlers
and blue hairnet. She struggled
to sit up, Thanks dear, she said,
not knowing. I had to tell her,
Mum … Dad died in the night.
