Festival Fifteen: Ellie's picks

Dwell, Simon Armitage

What more needs to be said other than Poet Laureate, Cornwall, and habitats? Simon Armitage was inspired to write these poems by the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall. His poems are about lost habitats – dwell meaning not only dwelling places such as a beaver lodge, but also the verb to dwell. Think fragility, enchantment, and a reawakened landscape, full of riddle and folklore. With gorgeous colour illustrations by Beth Munro, this book is deeply immersive.

Swell, Maria Ferguson

A beautiful, raw and powerful collection that explores the journey into new motherhood. Against sounds and sensations of daily life, Maria longs for her own mother's embrace, observes body changes and wades through loss (and wilting house plants) towards recovery, empowerment and renewal. Think triumphs and hardships.

Maria’s poetry has been widely published and her debut collection Alright, Girl? was Highly Commended in the prestigious Forward Prizes.

Bunker, Daniel Cordle (Editor) and Sarah Jackson,(Editor)

How wonderful to have a poetry book relevant to Nottingham in this year’s Festival Fifteen. Who knew that a Cold War relic exists in suburban Nottinghamshire? This book is the response of a small group of writers and poets, exploring whether literary creativity would flourish there. Think reflection, existential fears, and social dislocation. If you have taken part in one of our Minute Memoir workshops you might be familiar with Anthony Cropper - his work is included in this book.

Another win – Bunker is also published by our friends at Nottingham based Five Leaves.

Some of the poems in Bunker feature in the related exhibition Nuclear Bunker: a Creative Archive being displayed at Arnold Library, 3 September – 11 October as part of this year’s Poetry Festival.