books

Ambit publishes and sells a number of books, including:

Something Unusual, short stories by E. A. Markham – £10
Something Unusual brings you Philpot who loses his white suit in London’s Crouch End; who changes his name and heads north to Hull for an interview – does the trip really take ten years? Count the candles on Maureen’s birthday cake – she’s off to Albania but ends up in France. Recall those young, lazy growing up days where boys get pig with a little bit of divine intervention and the pincess is ripe with fruit. This glorious collection of short stories is something unusual indeed…

Bar Room Ballads, poems by Henry Graham illustrated by Ron Sanford – £10
This remarkable set of poems was largely written in pubs and bars recording the lonely poet’s observations of the characters. both mythological and real, around him. By turns ironic, humourous, moving the immediate allure of their contents hides a subtleness of the verse and ingenuity of handling the theme. The book has been illustrated by Ron Sandford with drawings based on sketches he made in many of the pubs where Henrey Graham wrote.

A Confusion of Women, a pamphlet of poems by Edwin Brock illustrated by Michael Foreman – £10
“She moves slowly across / the green hearth, her nose / directing her body, / each leg lifting itself / and moving weight.” These five poems on leopards, love and womanhood are illuminated (or perhaps obscured) by the ghostlike artwork of Michael Foreman.

The Mapmaker, fiction by Jim Magnall – £10
“Jim Mangall’s haunting, strange and memorable Map Maker has, for amny years, had a cult following among readers of Ambit Magazine. his exquisite pros effectively captures the dislocated spirit of the late 20th century. So do yourself a favour buy it, read it….” – Carol Ann Duffy

The Seven Deadly Sins, Bertold Brecht, translated by Christopher Logue, illustrated by Mike Foreman – £10
Die Sieben Todsünde der Kleinbürger, a ‘sung ballet’ with words by Bertold Brecht and music by Kurt Weill was first performed in June 1933 in Paris. This translation by Christopher Logue has been approved by the Brecht Estate and features illustrations from the talented Mr Foreman. A must for anyone thinking of indulging in Sloth, Gluttony, or any other irresponsible behavior.

Here from Elsewhere

‘Every artist is born in an alien country; he has a homeland nowhere but within his own borders…’ Rainer Maria Rilke

Ambit Books publishes a diverse range of poetry from international writers. Our Here from Elsewhere series contains a number of collections by poets from elswhere who are now living in the UK:

Memories of Summers in Brist Near Gradac and Other Poems by Sonja Batinic Besford – £6.95
Sonja is one of four sisters born in Belgrade. Her three sisters still live there but she came to Britain as a student and says she was trapped into marriage. Memories of Summer is her seventh book and is dedicated to a class of school children in Belgrade of whom she and her husband have been patrons for the last eight years.

Sir Winston Curchill Knew My Mother by Satyendra Srivastava – £6.95
Satyendra was born in Azamgargh, Uuar Pradesh, India. He writes in both Hindi and English, although the poems in Sir Winston were all written in English. He has won several awards for his writing and published travelogues.

A Day Within Days by Liu Hongbin – £6.95
Liu was born in 1962 in Qingdao, China. He worked as a teacher and journalist, and was frequently harrassed and questioned by the police for his literary and political activities. Four of Liu’s poems were posted around Tiananmen Square in 1989 during the eventsleading up to the massacre. He is the authr of two previous collections of poems.

Bells of Speech by Nazand Begikhani – £6.95
Nazand Beghikani was born in Kurdistan in 1964. She has been living in exile since 1987. She is a polyglot and self-translates her poems into English and French. Bells of Speech is her first collection in English. She is a founding member of the network organisation Kurdish Women against Honour Killing (KWAHK).

Each of the collections in the Here from Elsewhere series has a cover designed by artist Vanessa Jackson. They can be ordered singly or as a set:

Complete sets cost £25 UK £27/€50 rest of europe, £29/$60 rest of world.
Single copies cost £7.50 UK, £8/€14 rest of europe, £9/$17.50 rest of world. These prices include postage.

To buy any of these titles, please send a cheque along with your address and the title(s) you would like to:

Ambit Books,
17 Priory Gardens,
Highgate,
N6 5QY,
UK

To buy a book, or for more information about Ambit Books, please email info@ambitmagazine.co.uk