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Letters to the Sky is a collection of poems examining themes of friendship, nostalgia, identity, self-adornment, self-protection, sadness, hope and change. These ethereal, romantic, and feminine poems draw on the aesthetic beauty of nature, flowers, trees, the sky and the sea, to convey emotional intimacies. As if happening upon a cache of personal letters, the reader is invited to share in the poet's private world, where gardens, the seaside, a palace bathroom and an antique's cabinet are among the poems' settings.
The poet's love of London and her experiences of living in the city feature strongly throughout the collection, offsetting the gentler dreaminess of the natural environment poems with the city's vibrancy. The collection's long coming of age poem Dear Camden journals the poet's experience of living in Camden Town with honesty, humour, joy and spirited rhythm.
Deeply visual, filled with colour and decorativeness, Letters to the Sky, celebrates the poet's love of art, fashion and antiques. Using painterly and at times old fashioned language, the poet explores non-traditional poetry subjects such as make up, dresses and shopping. Throughout the collection, the poems' gorgeous veneer of dainty, pretty language splits open to reveal heartaches, anxieties and the poet's quest to learn how to live meaningfully.
List of contents
- Letters to the Sky
- "Violet,
- Before a mirror, I kneel to tend my face
- Corsage
- Carousel
- Stille Disco
- Now
- Figure with bindle
- Virginia Courtauld's Bathroom, Eltham Palace
- Liberty with Gerry
- Out of peace of mind
- And Your Hair Is Devastating
- The Ruby in the Tree
- March Display
- Little Edie
- On being told you used to be amazing
- Echo 2 7 Romeo Uniform
- Away
- Diorama
- Fortune
- Staying in to wash my hair
- December
- Chattertoniana
- She thinks of her dresses
- Needlepoint
- Colour
- Floridaflora
- Halloween Lane
- Karaoke in Bow
- Evelyn and Aurora Triumphans
- Respite
- In conversation with myself
- Aisles
- En route
- I suppose
- Please describe in the space below why you are applying for the role of Museum Assistant at The Wallace Collection
- The Archeress
- Elizabeth Bay
- Sunday
- I will stay at home and talk on the telephone
- Dear Camden
About the author
Camellia Stafford was born in Warwickshire. She read English Literature and Language at King's College London and has an MA from The Courtauld Institute of Art. Her debut pamphlet
another pretty colour, another break for air is published by tall lighthouse. Camellia divides her time between Warwickshire and London.
