The futility in the everyday - new book from Canterbury poet released
‘I saw a bird once’ has received rave reviews from other accomplished poets in the scene
Alex Vellis
We’ve all seen a bird once. And people. Watched those people change. But none have articulated this in the way Alex Vellis does.
In his latest book I saw a bird once, out now with Kent publisher Whisky & Beards the award-winning poet explores the themes of futility and loss through three characters. His work challenges the ideas of hope and home, love and futility, and identity and place.
Although Alex has been writing since he was 12, and published five books, he was inspired to write this collection after doing an MA in Creative Writing from the University Of Kent.
Inspired by an absent father, losing people to drugs and drug related deaths, and the barriers that can be faced and overcome by working class people, he wanted to explore the mundane, the futile, and the daily stresses in our lives.
He says: “I spoke to a man in Paris who showed me a ‘day in the life’ piece of short fiction he had written, and he encouraged me to do the same. From there, I developed the entire idea of ‘I saw a bird once’. Also, after having worked on my MA, with a focus on the wonder in the mundane, I became hooked on the idea of futility in the everyday.”
Committed to raising the profile of poetry and poets, Alex has produced the majority of Kent’s poetry events for the last five years, including the online poetry festival (in conjunction with Connor Sansby and co) ‘Winchesterfest’ - for which he gained his second (unsanctioned) world record for producing poetry events. He has headlined gigs across the UK and Europe, from large venues of thousands of people to intimate gatherings around campfires.
‘I saw a bird once’ has received rave reviews from other accomplished poets in the scene.
"A rare use of character-based prose poetry, this is an Under Milkwood for the dispossessed. Full of passion, brutal mouths and interlocking journeys. A contemporary epic." - Joelle Taylor, T. S. Eliot Prize 2021 Winner
“Vellis writes with a deep conviction, imbuing his subjects with a poetry rich in image, argument and pathos. Poems resist each other, they turn and move in ways that bring the page to life. There’s never a wasted moment here. These are brilliant poems to inhabit and explore.” - Anthony Anaxagorou, T.S Eliot Prize 2019 Shortlisted
About the book:
Title: I saw a bird once
Publisher: Whisky & Beards Publishing
Distributors: Connor Sansby/Gardeners
Price– paperback: £8
Available here
