Jill Saudek was born in Oxford and grew up in Marlow. She studied English at Newnham College, Cambridge and became an English and drama teacher and Head of Sixth Form in a variety of secondary schools. She retired in 2009 and now lives with her husband, son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren in southeast London. Her first book of poetry, Poems from Paintings, was published in the spring of 2020.
These poems were inspired by works of art, chosen across place and time for their intrinsic power and the challenge they present to provoke thoughts and feelings in the viewer.
Ideally, readers should find a reproduction of the painting – easily available on the internet – to contemplate, before reading the poem. The hope is that readers might become aware of previously unnoticed aspects of the work and be interested in seeing how their own responses match or indeed conflict with those of the author.
Thus, the collection aims to offer an invitation to contribute to an ongoing dialogue between the artist, the poet and the reader. All art forms open a window into other lives and ways of seeing; this interplay between the genres provides an opportunity to reflect upon much that lies beyond one’s own immediate experience.
These poems are a response to a wide range of well-known poems from across the ages. They are written in the same poetic form as the originals and offer a modern perspective on their central themes. The reader is invited to look up the original – perhaps to re-read a loved poem or to explore unfamiliar ones – and see how far attitudes have changed over time. The environment is a particularly poignant topic, as so many older poets were consoled by its seemingly enduring beauty in troubled times. Another theme is the belief in the afterlife, which was central to many of the earlier poets, and the contrast with our own largely sceptical age. There are also, of course, universal themes such as love, death, change and parting.
The tone aims to echo each original, with satire and humour mixed with more serious and reflective moods.
My second book, "Poems from Poems", is published today 21st July 2023. I do hope that readers will enjoy reading or re-reading the wonderful original poems, written across the ages, on which I have b ........
My next book in the publishing pipeline is a prose venture, written to be read aloud to young children from the age of about three and a half. There will be three separate stories in the book whic ........
During lockdown, I began to explore my husband’s collection of the art books which filled his shelves and which I had never previously paid much attention to. I came to realise that there might be a p ........
At the heart of the poetry project was a feeling of wonder - wonder at the skill of the artist, and also wonder at what the artist meant to convey, always aware that my intuition might be very d ........
I have learned a great deal through writing these poems. As a child, art and literature were linked: my mother had a book of Pre-Raphaelite paintings where I found, to my delight, The Lady of Shalott, ........
Austin Macauley are one of the fastest-growing publishers, striving hard to give authors the best chance of succeeding in an increasingly crowded market. With headquarters in London, New York and Sharjah, Austin Macauley Publishers™ have established themselves as an energetic and innovative independent trade publishers.
+44 (0) 207 038 8212
+44 (0) 203 515 0352
mail@austinmacauley.com
Austin Macauley Publishers™ Ltd.
1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf,
London, E14 5AA
United Kingdom
