Ten poems about aunts by Candlestick Press

Ten Poems About Aunts, selected and introduced by Anne Harvey

$14.99

'Instead of a Card' is the idea behind the British publisher Candlestick Press' range of gorgeous small poetry pamphlets. With covers created by leading contemporary artists and poems hand-picked to speak to every kind of reader, all their titles offer a richly rewarding reading journey. Pamphlets are supplied with an envelope for posting and a bookmark for a special message.

This volume -

Nearly all of us have an ‘auntie’ or ‘aunty’ – even if the person in question isn’t actually a relative.

In these entertaining and touching poems we meet story-telling aunts and aunts who spin their own yarn, aunts who send gifts from afar and an aunt with a crew cut who knows far more about love than could ever be imagined. The poems demonstrate that the essence of being an aunt is to always be there when needed:

“When your heart breaks, as hearts sometimes do,
Aunt Constance at Looe
will feed it on Cornish cream and philosophy,
soothe it with strawberries for tea;”

from ‘Aunts’ by Virginia Graham

The poems – tender and wry by turn – are a reminder that aunts in all their various guises are to be treasured and celebrated.

Poems by Moniza Alvi, Martin Armstrong, Charles Causley, Virginia Graham, Langston Hughes, Norman MacCaig, John McCullough, Stevie Smith, Joyce Sutphen and Christine Webb.

Cover illustration by Hilke MacIntyre.