Rosemary Tonks was a feted poet, trenchant reviewer and literary socialite. And then she 'disappeared'. Following her death last month, Neil Astley traces her extraordinary storyThe "disappearance" of the poet Rosemary Tonks in the 1970s was one of the literary world's most tantalising mysteries. Bizarre theories abounded as to her whereabouts if she was still alive. As the poet Brian Patten put it in a BBC radio feature about her in 2009, she "evaporated into air like the Cheshire cat". One contributor imagined her living in Cuba, "smoking cigars in a doorway". Other commentators over the years have made her into a nun; consigned her to a sect; had her communing with the ghost of Charles Baudelaire; or put her in a shed at the bottom of someone's garden. For some reason, these mythmakers always required her to be living in poverty.Having tried to visit her myself, 10 years ago, I knew all these theories to be far from the truth. But out of respect for her declared wish, maintained by her family, that she should be left in peace, I kept her address and situation secret. Tonks died last month at the age of 85 (all the existing records had her as four years younger). She had indeed been living as a near-recluse but out of choice, quite comfortable in her circumstances. Even so, she remained restless in spirit, defiantly independent and quite alone in her continuing search for God, for she was ever alert to the "brainwashing", manipulative tendencies in the religious... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Melville House UK has acquired the “genre-bending” memoir of American poet, critic and non-fiction author, Maggie Nelson. Managing director Zeljka Marosevic bought rights for the UK and Commonwealth, excluding Canada, from Katie Dublinski at Graywolf Press. This will be the first time Nelson’s... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Brooklyn-based indie is hoping to make waves with the first English language edition of Leon Werth's memoir, '33 Days,' about the grueling trek he and over eight million Jews made, in 1940, fleeing Paris and the advancing German army. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A first edition of One Hundred Years of Solitude was stolen at the Bogota Book Fair last week. Police recovered the book, but the thieves are still at large. The post Lost then Found: Police Recover Garcia Marquez First Edition appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This spring, during National Poetry Month (April) and the weeks immediately before and after, publishers are pushing out a host of memoirs by poets. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An Alabama family says Lee was working on another book based on true crime cases, while the state of Alabama says it recently closed an investigation about the author. Lee is publishing a new book, 'Go Set a Watchman,' later this year. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More than twenty years after his death a new Dr. Seuss book, "What Pet Should I Get?" will be published this summer. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Like book authors who hate Amazon’s policies, crafters who hate Etsy find it hard to leave because of the site’s immense traffic and generally positive public reputation. Just before the Christmas rush, I finally put my money where my mouth is and shut down my shop. The post How Etsy Alienated... Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2015-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Philip Levine, poet of the American working class and U.S. Poet Laureate from 2011-2012, has died at 87. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Poets selected by the Poetry Book Society as its Next Generation Poets 2014 will be heading on tour across the country for the next month. Writers including Adam Foulds, Helen Mort, Daljit Nagra and Annie Freud will take part in the tour a follow-up to an intital tour in 2014, appearing at... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Agent reveals plan for abandoned third novel and dismisses manipulation claims as ‘nonsense’Harper Lee’s agent revealed on Thursday that To Kill a Mockingbird was originally intended to be the first of a three-book series, and described as “total nonsense” claims that the 88-year-old author was... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Faber and Faber will publish a "lost" horror novel by the late American writer William Gay. Editorial director Angus Cargill bought the UK rights from Clare Conville at Conville & Walsh. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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British children’s book start-up Lost My Name is planning to expand into several new territories in 2015 after claiming it outsold Julia Donaldson’s Superworm in 2015. The company sells personalised picture books via its website www.lostmy.name. Customers create a book by entering the name... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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For the full year, sales increased 20% to $88.99 billion at Amazon, but the company had a net loss in the year of $241 million compared with net income of $274 million in 2013. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oklahoma's former Poet Laureate Nathan Brown discusses how his career was transformed by his decision to transition into self-publishing, tripling sales. The post Nathan L. Brown: The Self-Publishing Poet Laureate appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-01-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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William Heinemann has acquired a “significant” collection of erotic letters from a young woman to her lover dating from the 1920s. Selina Walker, publisher at Century and Arrow, bought UK and Commonwealth (excluding Australia New Zealand) rights to the collection, edited by Jean Yves Berthault... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Ideal,' the first Ayn Rand novel to be released since 1957's 'Atlas Shrugged,' is set to be published by Penguin Random House imprint NAL on July 7, 2015. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Excitement is building in the national press about a new book which uses a manuscript from the British Library as the basis for claims that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had two children with her. The Lost Gospel by Simcha Jacobovici and Barrie Wilson will be released on Wednesday (12th... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jonathan Cape has three poets shortlisted for the T S Eliot Prize, which is to increase the winner’s award to £20,000 from 2015. The prize money, previously £15,000, has been increased to mark the 50th anniversary of T S Eliot’s death on 4th January next year, and each of the shortlisted poets... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a deal closed shortly before the fair got underway, Trident Media’s Ellen Levine sold a debut novel to Farrar, Straus & Giroux’s Jonathan Galassi for a figure rumored to be in the substantial six figure range. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Poetry Book Society has named its 2014 Next Generation Poets, with women dominating the list... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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