Jan Elisabeth Fortune

I’d like to start with a big thank you to Jan and Cinnamon Press. I have benefited both from mentoring and publication by them and from Jan’s warm encouragement at all times. Also thank you to Jan for generously inviting me to write a blog about my latest publication, the pamphlet Wedding Grief, which is published by a different press, the Scottish-based Tapsalteerie (a Scots word meaning topsy-turvy).

Wedding Grief, which I began work on in 2018, centres on the courtship and marriage of the French Surrealist poet Paul Éluard and his first wife Gala (Elena Dimitrievna Diakonova) and this blog is the story of its genesis, which for me demonstrates how subjects for writing, particularly extended writing, come at you sideways, and take off in unexpected ways. My advice to any writer would be 1) trust your imagination and 2) don’t overplan – a work will often show you in the end how it needs to be structured.

This work began with a coming together of two different strands of my writing: translation and narrative poetry.

I have always enjoyed translating poetry (mainly from French) and found it a very useful practice because it doesn’t rely on that elusive entity ‘inspiration’ but does give a poet a lot of scope for both emotional response and playing with language and form. On days when I feel unable to write I can always translate.

In 2016 I set myself the task of translating as many of Éluard’s 110 (!) collections as I could before I die. Why Éluard? I knew little about him, but a wonderful prose poem of his lies at the heart of Edith Sitwell’s lushly sensuous poem ‘The Swans’ and she liked it so much that it also appears in her biography of Queen Victoria. Although she credits Éluard for this she doesn’t name the poem and you could say that the whole translation project began as a way (so far unsuccessful) to track down this elusive poem.

It was a natural step from translating Éluard to wanting to know more about him and Gala, for and about whom so many of his poems were written. Once I started on this track it opened up many other fascinating paths to explore: their ménage á trois with Max Ernst, Éluard‘s sudden departure for Indo-China, the various artistic movements of interwar Paris, Gala’s subsequent marriage to Salvador Dalí. In no time at all I had material for several books.

But what sort of books? I have published two full collections, both with Oversteps Books of what could loosely be called narrative poetry. Fr Meslier’s Confession (about an eighteenth century French atheist priest) and A Troubling Woman (about the fifteenth century English visionary Margery Kempe). Both used a range of voices to carry the narrative forward, and in particular the voice of the central protagonist. At the time I began translating Éluard I was mulling over the idea of a narrative closer to our own times centred on a female character. Gala seemed a possible candidate. But the more I read round the subject and the more I wrote about it, the more it became clear over the next two years that the books would tell the story of Éluard too and of their circle of friends at a momentous time in the history of Europe.

It also became clear that although I would use the technique of different viewpoints I would not speak in the voice of any of the historical characters. Gala was notoriously reticent; Éluard’s poetry spoke for itself. I began writing a series of poems spanning the period from their first meeting in a TB sanatorium in Switzerland to the fateful triangle with Max Ernst, which signalled the beginning of the long-drawn out end of their marriage. I titled these poems ‘Wedding Grief’ and sent them to Tapsalteerie to see if they would be interested in a pamphlet based on this material. Because the poems were heavily influenced by Éluard’s poetry and surreal in approach and imagery, I was not very sanguine. I was delighted when they expressed an interest.

I had been working in parallel on a series of prose poems based on Gala’s only surviving letters to Éluard, all written from wartime Paris before their marriage while he was serving as a soldier in the French army. I titled these ‘The Little Russian’ (Éluard’s mother’s not entirely affectionate nickname for Gala); I had also been working on a long sequence, ‘Poet at War’, based on the two collections of poems Éluard published during the War itself (he was not yet 21 when the first was published). These three separate bodies of writing arranged themselves in the finished pamphlet in a natural order. More than one favourable comment has been made on the structure of the book but it was almost entirely fortuitous.

And this brings me to a topic on which I have strong views, the question of ‘research’ where poetry is concerned. I have done a research degree. I know what is involved – rigorous examination of texts, painstaking checking of facts, diligent following up of references. In no sense can the sort of book-hopping I go in for when writing poems about historical figures be termed ‘research’; my favoured method is to draw on one or two key texts and dip into others to check on particular points. As regards historical accounts I drew mainly on Dominique Bona’s Gala, La Muse Redoutable but far and away the greatest influence on the book was Éluard’s own poems. Through my translation project I have read every single one he wrote during the period covered by Wedding Grief and their passion, soaring imagery and complete emotional honesty set me free to write in a way that felt new to me. In a real sense he is the true author of Wedding Grief.

A C Clarke

Beth Cox is one of a growing list of Cinnamon authors who has taken advantage of the Leaf by Leaf hybrid publishing imprint to launch her book into the world. We select books once or twice a year and the competition has been rigorous so far — poetry, full length fiction, short stories, creative fiction and nonfiction, memoir and prose that blurs these boundaries have all featured and it’s an exciting venture with high quality writing and lots of attention to design.

Cinnamon provides a marketing guide and full access to our professional distribution channels which gets books on all the online platforms with an enhanced data service for the bibliographic information and also into catalogues for independent bookshops as well as availability across international markets. Increasingly, authors at all levels are the foremost and best promoters of their work but the Leaf by Leaf authors take on more of this and have been doing so to great effect.

This is Beth’s experience of launching her book, which is a story of family secrets and resilience; a compelling account of how we deal with loss of so many kinds, even the loss of self.

When I heard from Cinnamon Press that my memoir, Britannia Street, had been accepted for publication through their Leaf-by-Leaf scheme I was thrilled. The contract stated that I would undertake to publicise Britannia Street myself. I was assured that Cinnamon would make the book available through book wholesalers as well as on Amazon. This means that the book can be purchased through retail booksellers online or by ordering through the retail shops. This gives authors a leg-up and a starting place. But the rest was up to me.

I wasn’t too daunted by this because I had previously self-published and self-publicised my first book. The first thing I did was to find someone to set up a website for me. Through asking literary-minded friends locally I found someone who understood my lack of skill with technology and who wouldn’t charge the earth. She was very helpful and quickly set up a simple but beautiful website and Facebook page for me. I already had an Instagram account through which I followed the author, Clover Stroud. Clover and I had already met in person, and she offered to set up an Instagram Live to discuss my book. This is something Clover does regularly, talking mainly about loss and grief. Clover is a skilled and sensitive interviewer, and this started the process of launching my book. I found several new followers as a result, and received messages telling me they had bought the book

The next move was to plan a book launch. I had been involved with a local Arts’ Festival a few years previously and I had friends and contacts through that who I could call on for advice. My friend Debs agreed to do a Q & A, something she has done previously at the Arts Festivals. We thought carefully about the venue and decided on a nearby sports club which could seat about 50 people, and which had a bar. As an ex-lecturer I’m not anxious about speaking to groups so that’s a great bonus. But even so I do have a few moments of nervousness before I sit or stand in front of a group. Once I get going, I soon relax and start to enjoy it. Debs and I chose the passages from Britannia Street that I would read. I emailed all my literary contacts, and we had a great response. The venue was full and everyone who attended seemed in a supportive mood and intent on enjoying themselves. I think there was a certain post-covid buzz of freedom about it (although we’re not post covid at all really) but my sharing of some personal events in the readings, both sad and funny, seemed to encourage others to share some of their own family history with me. My husband David and another friend (both feature in the book) were great booksellers and we sold over 30 signed copies.

I have sent Britannia Street to a handful of magazine and newspaper book reviewers as well as to people at the University where I took my MA Creative writing. My family and friends are helping to promote the book through book groups and other groups they belong to such as the Women’s Institute and U3A. It’s important to weigh up how many books you are willing to give away. The costs soon mount up when you give away a £10.99p book, especially if you post it.

I would love to do a reading and Q & A event at a literature festival. I’m keeping a close eye on those so I’m aware when the call for artists goes out. Or when it seems like the right time to send them a copy.

Local bookshops may be willing to stock your book and run events. One seemed reluctant but another seemed more helpful and will consider an event in the new year.

Overall, this has been an enjoyable, fun experience. From the moment when the boxes of author copies arrived, I was excited about seeing my words in print, with the front cover just as I hoped it would be. People have mostly been interested and supportive, and I have received many messages of appreciation and congratulation. People have been moved by my words and that is all I wished for.

Beth Cox