October spawned a monster
The Warm Universe, Alice Keeling, The New Ramsay Head Press, 2026
To misquote Morrissey, one October spawned a monster. On Thursday, 1st October, National Poetry Day - we’d like to say that was planned so, yeah, we’ll just say it was planned - the final copies of Alice’s book of poems + drawings The Warm Universe arrived from our printers in Devon. And the book looks gorgeous, so much so that Mark was almost moved to tears. Almost, but to misquote his own poem Back In The Day:
He is Scottish
He is men
So even in deep joy he didn’t cry
That’s how it was
His not to reason why
The book has already received some glowing reviews. Prize winning poet and poetry reviews editor of Gutter magazine Zain Rishi described The Warm Universe as “Wild, inventive, and playful… an original and evocative debut." Acclaimed author, bàrd and storyteller Martin MacIntyre wrote that Alice "makes us read with wider eyes".
We celebrated by exchanging gifts. Mark gave Alice a sticker from one of our favourite poets Howard Lasagna. The sticker says "Everything is going to be OK forever" - we’re pretty sure it will be. Alice gave Mark a satsuma.
Over the weekend Alice continued working on a spectacular backdrop for her book launch at the Traverse Theatre on 17th October. It’s made from bamboo, paper and a bargain bag of ladybirds bought on the internet. She also cycled up to Typewronger Books with some signed copies of The Warm Universe.
A photo of the seashore at Alnmouth that Mark took when he should have been writing
And Mark? On a writer’s retreat in Alnmouth apparently. Time will tell. Last time he was there for the weekend, surrounded by all that beautiful rugged Northumberland coastline, he managed one short poem about a married couple he overheard in a restaurant discussing kitchen shelves.
You can buy The Warm Universe now from our online shop. Copies also available from Typewronger Books, Edinburgh and The Old School Gallery, Alnmouth.
The launch night is on 17th October at the Traverse Theatre. We’re really excited about it and we’d love to see you there. It’s free but you do need a ticket, which you can get from here. 🌀