Candlestick Press

Grandeur and timeless beauty – poems exploring these iconic city landmarks.

Ten Poems about Cathedrals
Selected and Introduced by Carole Bromley

https://www.candlestickpress.co.uk/pamphlet/ten-poems-about-cathedrals/

Cathedrals are monumental buildings, often standing in the heart of our cities like a timeless centre of gravity. They can be seen from far away – from trains and motorways – competing on the skyline with office blocks and other modern constructions. Even in our more secular era, cathedrals carry a grandeur that gives us pause for thought. Perhaps this is because we know that they have probably taken longer to build than a human lifetime.

These wonderfully varied poems celebrate the majesty and meaning of all sorts of cathedrals. We encounter York Minster, St Davids and St Paul’s during the blitz. We experience their rather solemn silence and the beauty of stained glass:

“Let your eyes walk
Through a glass garden –
All of these colours
Are born from one light.”

from ‘Rules for Visiting a Cathedral’ by Andrew Rudd

The poems will delight anyone who loves cathedrals for their beauty, their history or for the sense of peace we can feel when we go inside.

Poems by Carole Bromley, Gillian Clarke, Elizabeth Gibson, Malcolm Guite, Keith Jarrett, Richard Jones, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Ormond, Kate Rhodes and Andrew Rudd.

Cover illustration by Sarah Kirby.

Not long now till the launch of Prodigal Flowers: Ten Ecopoems by Mario Petrucci!

Book your free place here https://www.candlestickpress.co.uk/events/

Delighted to report that in addition to our existing distribution network, we’re now also trading via Faire, the online B2B wholesale marketplace that connects independent retailers with independent brands. We hope this means that the Candlesticks can reach even more lovely shops and shoppers around the world, especially in the US.

And there’s a fantastic sign-up deal for stockists via this link: www.faire.com/direct/candlestickpress with free shipping for a year and 50% discount!

NEW! URGENT POEMS FOR A FRAGILE PLANET

Prodigal Flowers: Ten Ecopoems by Mario Petrucci

This compelling single-author pamphlet – to be launched on 5th June to mark World Environment Day – features new poems by ecopoet and environmentalist Mario Petrucci. The pamphlet is the first in a series to be published by Candlestick Press in 2026/27, showcasing new work by some of the UK’s leading contemporary poets.

These poems by ecopoet and environmentalist Mario Petrucci offer a series of remarkable encounters with the natural world. They question and warn, while finding wonder and beauty amid the sobering realities of climate change. The flowers may seem “prodigal” but it’s their vulnerability that sharpens the poet’s attention.

We look through both ends of the telescope to view the intricate lives of plants and insects as vividly as the abstract grandeur of the cosmos. Sometimes the two come together; here, rare seeds are akin to stars:

“Each tiny face has its look:
the black-shiny. The varnishy-brown.
The specks too – it’s like telling stars
apart, rolling them thumb to palm.”

from ‘Seedwoman’

The vigour of Petrucci’s language shows us the world as a place that is intensely, though precariously, alive. He is a scientist as well as a poet, and these heady encounters are energised by that juxtaposition.

“Mario’s poems pull no punches – they will intrigue, delight, terrify and provoke at every level of emotion, learning and action.” The Poetry Society (World Environment Day).

Pamphlet link https://www.candlestickpress.co.uk/pamphlet/prodigal-flowers-ten-ecopoems/

Register for the online launch event on 5th June here https://www.candlestickpress.co.uk/events/

Read more about Prodigal Flowers and ecopoetry in a Q&A with Mario Petrucci on our blog here: https://www.candlestickpress.co.uk/blog/qa-with-mario-petrucci/

NEW! TEN POEMS ABOUT BLUEBELLS

https://www.candlestickpress.co.uk/pamphlet/ten-poems-about-bluebells/

One of the most beloved of British wildflowers, bluebells are a brief glory in our ancient woodlands. They appear in April or May and dazzle us for a short while with their scent and colour, making us think of other blue places such as the sea and the sky. No wonder they are also beloved of poets.

The ten poems gathered here offer heady encounters with bluebells in woods, on hillsides and under hedges. They reflect the fact that even if we go looking for them, bluebells always manage to astonish us:

“there! – a flood of sky in the under-wood,
thousands of cloudless blues on strings.
Wait for a wind to play them. Wait for them to ring –”

from ‘Bluebells’ by Cheryl Pearson

This is an anthology to read when the bluebells are in full bloom – and to return to later in the year when we long to be reminded of the intoxicating beauty of those glorious days of spring.

Selected and introduced by Katharine Towers.

Poems by John Clare, Stanley Cook, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Helen Dunmore, Sylvia Kantaris, Patrick Kavanagh, Cheryl Pearson, Anne Stevenson, Charles Tomlinson and Katharine Towers.

Cover illustration by Jane Burn.

TEN POEMS ABOUT BLACKBIRDS

Blackbirds are one of our most beautiful songsters. There’s nothing quite as transporting as hearing one sing from a treetop or rooftop on a summer evening – they appear to have all the time in the world:

“But the blackbird still will sing,
Making the heart of the dark wood thrill
With the notes that come from his golden bill…”

from ‘The Blackbird’s Song’ by George Walter Thornbury

These poems celebrate the heart-stopping beauty of the song, together with the perky boldness of a bird that we so often see hopping across our parks and gardens. Perhaps it’s because we’re familiar with them that blackbirds seem to have something to say about our human lives.

This richly varied selection will delight anyone who loves blackbirds and the irresistible music of their song.

Selected and introduced by Di Slaney.

Poems by Moniza Alvi, John Clare, Gillian Clarke, Miriam Darlington, Phyllis Drayson, Wendy Pratt, Angela Readman, RS Thomas, George Walter Thornbury and Humbert Wolfe.

Illustrations by Sam Cannon.

https://www.candlestickpress.co.uk/pamphlet/ten-poems-about-blackbirds/

TEN POEMS ABOUT ALLOTMENTS

Having an allotment isn’t the same as having a vegetable patch in the garden. There’s something about the sense of shared endeavour – the fair exchange of cups of tea and know-how – that means an allotment is not just a place but also a state of mind.

The selection features poems that revel in the good-natured competition that inevitably arises: who has grown the biggest onion and whose weeds are most to be frowned upon. There are also slugs and worms, aching backs and roughened hands – all seasoned by the heady tang of manure.

But the abiding spirit is the pleasure that comes from tending a small patch of earth, the deep joy afforded by taking part in the year’s repeating patterns of planting and harvesting:

“She places each first early
on its smelly bed. Delicate as eggs they sit
until he spades the soil over. Buried treasure.”

from ‘Allotment’ by Vivienne Tregenza

Selected and introduced by Di Slaney.

Poems by Marie-Louise Eyres, Marian Griffin, Ramona Herdman, Beag Horn, Vanessa Lampert, John Lancaster, Vivienne Tregenza, Zoë Walkington, Peter Wallis and Rob Walton.

Cover illustration by Diana Croft.

https://www.candlestickpress.co.uk/pamphlet/ten-poems-about-allotments/

Submissions now open — deadline midnight Friday 23rd January 2026

In our first open submission window, we’re looking for poems to appear in Ten Poems about Allotments, a mini-anthology exploring the joys of growing fruit and veg for your own table or to share with family and friends.

Your poem can be published or unpublished, as long as you retain the copyright. There’s no fee to enter but your poem must be your own original writing (ie no help from AI).

More information here, including how to submit:

Themed submissions Ten Poems about Allotments

🎅🏻 Festive Read ~ Almanac : Twelve Poems for 2026 from Candlestick Press Candlestick Press September 2026 My thanks to the publisher form my copy of this pamphlet Twelve beautiful poems for the months of the year...