Velvel's Violin

Jacqueline Saphra

Summary

Velvel's Violin, a deeply moving and political fifth collection by TS Eliot Prize-shortlisted poet Jacqueline Saphra places us on the shifting ground between past and present. Through its search for missing histories of the Jewish diaspora, the book is a call for empathy and a warning to a world where the legacy of the Holocaust echoes current narratives of prejudice, war, displacement, and migration.
Saphra's precisely-tuned writing ranges through tones of dark humour, lyrical beauty and moments of transcendent joy to find assonance between the turbulence of now and a family history of fragmented stories, irreparable loss and miraculous escapes. Between each poem - forgotten songs, weeping forests, buried violins - sound and silence combine to speak of love, absence and survival.

Available since: 07/06/2023.

Print length: 72 pages.

Poetry & Theatre

Other books that might interest you

The New Brownies' Book - A Love...

Charly Palmer, Karida L. Brown

"[A] heartfelt tribute to young people of color and their 'reflection of resplendent beauty, ancient history ... and irreplaceable value.' It's a standout."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

Inspired by the groundbreaking work of W. E. B. Du Bois, this beautiful collection brings together an outstanding roster of Black creative voices to honor, celebrate, and foster Black excellence.

Give yourself a joyful smile as you look at your beautiful skin. Hug yourself. You are as unique as your fingerprints. This is TRUTH.—Halima Taha, “A Love Letter for You” from The New Brownies’ Book

In 1920, as art and writing flourished during the Harlem Renaissance, W. E. B. Du Bois published The Brownies’ Book: A Monthly Magazine for Children of the Sun—the first periodical for African American youth, collecting original art, stories, letters, and activities to celebrate their identities
and inspire their imaginations and ambitions.

Building upon Du Bois’s mission, esteemed professor and scholar Karida L. Brown and celebrated artist Charly Palmer reimagine the groundbreaking publication with The New Brownies’ Book, gathering the work of more than 50 contemporary Black writers, including Ntozake Shange, Frank X
Walker, Danny Simmons, and Alice Faye Duncan. Created by and for Black families today, this anthology is filled with inspiring essays, poems, and short stories reflecting on the joy and depth of the Black experience.

Delivering delight to adults and children alike, this powerful celebration of twenty-firstcentury Black culture fulfills the promise of its source material by reminding readers of all ages that Black is brilliant, beautiful, and bold.

Show book

Late Night Fish

Liam Alexandru

Michael and Tony are in the “Waste Management Business”. Without questions, they’ve been asked to dispose of a large “package” in a nearby lake. Join us on a tale of missing boats, existential questions, and gangster films as we take you on a trip into the average day of a “Union Representative”.

Show book

The Ghosts' High Noon

W. S. Gilbert

LibriVox volunteers bring you 19 recordings of The Ghosts' High Noon by W. S. Gilbert. This was the Weekly Poetry HALLOWE'EN project for October 24th, 2010.

Show book

The Taming of the Shrew

E.A. Copen, William Shakespeare,...

Love and wit conquer all in Shakespeare's sparkling comedy of self-delusion and disguise. 
Padua holds many suitors for the hand of fair Bianca, but Bianca may not be married until her spinster sister, Kate, is wed. Could any man be rash enough to take on Kate?  
The witty adventurer Petruchio undertakes the task. While he sets about transforming Kate from foul-tempered termagant to loving wife, young Lucentio and his clever servant, Tranio, plot to win Bianca.  
Frances Barber and Roger Allam are Kate and Petruchio. Lucentio is played by Alan Cox.

Show book

The Secret Garden

Frances Hodgson Burnett

'What happened then, some would say, was almost magic.'
Disregarded and disobedient, ten-year-old Mary Lennox is sent from India to Yorkshire, and put into the care of an uncle she has never met.
At Misselthwaite Manor, a brokenhearted house full of secrets and strange noises, Mary discovers a garden as lost and neglected as she is. If she can learn to make friends with robins, grumpy gardeners and a boy who speaks to animals, Mary might be able to bring more than just the garden back to life…
The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett's tale about the magic of nature and the nature of magic, has been a beloved and quietly radical classic of children's literature since its publication in 1911. Holly Robinson and Anna Himali Howard's thrillingly adventurous adaptation was first performed at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, London, in 2024.

Show book

Top 10 Poets The - The 20th...

Edna St. Vincent Millay

The language of Poetry is an art that most of us attempt at some point in our lives.  Although its commonplace exposure has been somewhat marginalised in today’s often fast-paced lives we all recognise good verse that can empathise with our thoughts or open us up to experience new things in new ways, to better understand and to enjoy the many strands of our lives. 
But finding a starting point can be overwhelming, even off-putting, so in this series we offer up our Top 10 classic poets, who brim with talent and verse, on a range of subjects and themes that we can all enjoy. 
In this volume we explore poets of such fame and ability that, set against, arguably the most chaotic of centuries, poetry rises to yet new heights in its exploration and dissection of society and the human condition.

Show book