Poetry books by Pat Earnshaw
Pat's books are available from:
Gorse Publications,
P.O.Box 214,
Shamley Green,
Guildford GU5 0SW
email: 
Post-free in the UK.
Cheques to Gorse Publications.
Virtual Eden, 2008, RRP £ 4.50
Published by Gorse Publications - ISBN 978-09524113 85
. . We were like moulting dogs
shedding handful by messy handful
all the impetuous honesty of early childhood,
our piebald skins bared to the spreading light
of consciousness, learning concealment, mouths
nibbling the secret apple.
from 'Rude Words'
Virtual Eden is a series of vivid cameos tracing elements of the author's life between the ages of one and eight, a time that is often viewed in retrospect as blissful and protected, a personal Eden. With remarkable recall and an unusual sensitivity to atmosphere, she sketches the opposing personalities of her maternal grandparents and their lives in the primitive conditions of an isolated rural village; the death of a two-month old brother; a letter she wrote to a favourite doll when she was four and a half and had just started school; her father's suicide; the emergence of awareness of herself as a person and a body; and the sense of total isolation following a long 'exile' in hospital, after an operation for middle ear abscess (age 8).
Told as far as possible from a child's point of view, and free of self-pity and sentimentality, this collection is a moving account of one person's experience of infancy and early childhood.
Gothic Tales , 2005, RRP £ 4.50
Published by Gorse Publications - ISBN 978-0952411376
Gothic Tales is written not in the current mode but something more ancient, less closely connected with the everydayness of existence, exploiting atmospheres and situations on another, perhaps supernatural even spine-chilling, level of reality.
If I had time
I'd gather memories round me
like lost orphans of baboons.
Brown as dried figs they'd cling
to my limbs, yellow circular eyes
lost in the hopelessness
of communication.
The Golden Hinde, 2002, Out of stock
Published by Redbeck Press - ISBN 978-0946980871
Under the generalship of Francis Drake, five ships set sail from Plymouth Harbour on November 15th, 1577. For almost three years they braved largely uncharted oceans without telescopes, knowledge of longitude, or any means of outside communication. Their quite small boats, the decks painted red to hide the spillage of blood, confronted great storms, attacked Spanish Galleons, and were attacked by vengeful Indians linking these white skins to the vicious cruelty of the Conquistadores. They suffered drought, starvation, lice, and were never quite free of the superstitious dread of witches and sea-monsters that returned to hunt them when they were stuck on a sandbank in the Moluccas.
Only one ship survived the journey: The Golden Hinde . .
My Cat Vince, 2000, RRP £ 7.50
Published by Gorse Publications - ISBN 978-0952411369
This volume contains twenty prose-poems about a black cat called Vince, each tale beautifully illustrated by wild-life artist Sally Michel. Vince is a real-life cat: small, slim, neither beautiful nor cuddly but loyal, affectionate and with great charisma.
The text of My Cat Vince was awarded first prize in the Scintilla poetry competition, 2000:
'Pat Earnshaw's modestly titled My Cat Vince delighted us with its bold use of prose-poems episodically arranged, precisely and evocatively observed, subtly exploring connections between human and animal awareness "within the texture of the universe"'.
(Scintilla 4, 2000).
Out on a Limb, 1999, RRP £ 6.99
Published by Gorse Publications - ISBN 978-0952411350
Sonnets, villanelles, sestinas, terza rima and other traditional forms alternate with free verse to explore the mysterious, at times sinister, occasionally surreal aspects of science and the mind, that underlie the humanity of everyday life.
A nicely presented collection of well crafted, thought-provoking and enjoyable to read poetry. There are 50 poems on 96 pages with not a dull one among them. A bargain at the price, rush out and get a copy. I promise you'll not put it down unread.
New Hope International: http://www.geocities;com/Athens/Oracle/1735
The spectrum of Pat Earnshaw's knowledge across the board from science fiction to science fact appears to be boundless. . . her powerful written words ensure a rare and evocative insight into human vulnerability and the scepticism of science. An exceptionally succinct and innovative composition from a woman who has done her research well.
Oxford Poetry Chronicle No. 3. Summer 1999
She writes knowledgeably about history. 'Madness for tulips 1630s' is a fine example and in 'Addiction' she takes us through the folklore surrounding smoking. In 'Ice in my heart' this poet writes of conflict, using ice images -'I need to stay frozen / tears hard and unfallen / I was not meant to be frozen;' I hope she will tap her unconscious as freely as she ranges the visible world. This is a mind-expanding collection and should be read.
Jill Bamber, Links No.6. Autumn 1999
Cychosis, 1997, RRP £ 6.99
Published by Gorse Publications - ISBN 978-0952411342
This second collection of Pat Earnshaw's poems explores the themes of time, immortality, the millenium, childhood passions and cannibalism.
The title CYCHOSIS combines the concepts of psychosis and cyberspace.
The title poem is a study of the near-paranoia induced by an obsession with virtual reality.
'An apocalyptic voice speaks - or rather sings mournfully - throughout this interesting collection. The best of the long poems deal without sentimentality with the terrible gaps in perception that can exist between children and adults. The eponymous poem has all the surprises, the delights and the flaws which make Cychosis such an interesting read;'
Derrick Buttress Links no.4
'One senses a quest for wisdom that is also a quest to deal with tragedy.'
Pennine Platform no.43
Pigeon Grounded, 1996, RRP £ 6.99
Published by Gorse Publications - ISBN 978-0952411338
Pigeon Grounded was Pat Earnshaw's first return to creative writing. The medley of poems ranges from rhyme to free verse and from everyday observation to scientific fact and speculation.
Extracts from reviews:
'a readable enjoyable collection . . much excellent writing'
New Hope International Review, Vol 19 no 4 p 7.
'The author uses her considerable scientific knowledge to enrich her accounts of the world around her'
Zene no. 11.
'Below the polished surface and behind the gentle humour and resigned irony, her verse possesses both passion and pain'
Author-Publisher Network, Autumn 1997.