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Elemental
The ELEMENTS are individually powerful.
Inextricably linked.
Poetic...
Inextricably linked.
Poetic...
96 pages, Paperback
Published June 2, 2024
About the author
Helen Laycock
21 books63 followersSHORT STORIES
Helen Laycock's short stories appear in a variety of anthologies, such as the Cabinet of Heed and An Earthless Melting Pot, in magazines, and in her own collections, and have been successful in many writing competitions. Her first attempt at play-writing secured her a shortlisting in Pint-Sized Plays in 2016.
FLASH FICTION
In 2018, she was commissioned as a lead writer at Visual Verse and her flash fiction has featured in several editions of The Best of CafeLit. Pieces have been showcased in Reflex Fiction, the Ekphrastic Review, Paragraph Planet, Serious Flash Fiction, the Beach Hut, and Lucent Dreaming – whose inaugural flash competition she won. She was longlisted in Mslexia’s 2019 flash fiction competition and her work has appeared in several Flash Floods as part of National Flash Fiction Day.
CHILDREN'S FICTION (MG)
She has penned nine children's books for 8-12-year-olds. She has been employed as a writer by an educational publisher and as a teacher.
POETRY
Pushcart nominee, winner of Black Bough Poetry's Chapbook Contest, former recipient of the David St. John Thomas Award, and nominee for the Dai Fry Award, Helen Laycock’s poetry collection Frame has featured as Book of the Month at the East Ridge Review.
Her poetry has been published by Black Bough, Broken Spine Arts, Folkheart Press, Prattlefog and Gravelrap, The Wombwell Rainbow, Poetry Roundabout, Spilling Cocoa Over Martin Amis, Onslaught, The Storms Journal, Popshot, Lucent Dreaming, Literary Revelations, Kobayaashi, Three Drops Press, The Caterpillar, The Dirigible Balloon,Fevers of the Mind & Visual Verse. Many of her poems can be purchased at https://www.facebook.com/pillarboxpoe....
She also writes humorous verse.
She has four websites:
Fiction in a Flash
https://helenlaycock.wixsite.com/fict...
Children's Author
https://helenlaycock.wixsite.com/hele...
Poetry
https://helenlaycock.wixsite.com/marb...
Tiny Tales
https://helenlaycock.wixsite.com/tiny...
All her books are available on Amazon:
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Helen-Laycoc...
US: https://www.amazon.com/Helen-Laycock/...
She can be followed on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/helenlaycock...
Twitter:
@helen_laycock
Helen Laycock's short stories appear in a variety of anthologies, such as the Cabinet of Heed and An Earthless Melting Pot, in magazines, and in her own collections, and have been successful in many writing competitions. Her first attempt at play-writing secured her a shortlisting in Pint-Sized Plays in 2016.
FLASH FICTION
In 2018, she was commissioned as a lead writer at Visual Verse and her flash fiction has featured in several editions of The Best of CafeLit. Pieces have been showcased in Reflex Fiction, the Ekphrastic Review, Paragraph Planet, Serious Flash Fiction, the Beach Hut, and Lucent Dreaming – whose inaugural flash competition she won. She was longlisted in Mslexia’s 2019 flash fiction competition and her work has appeared in several Flash Floods as part of National Flash Fiction Day.
CHILDREN'S FICTION (MG)
She has penned nine children's books for 8-12-year-olds. She has been employed as a writer by an educational publisher and as a teacher.
POETRY
Pushcart nominee, winner of Black Bough Poetry's Chapbook Contest, former recipient of the David St. John Thomas Award, and nominee for the Dai Fry Award, Helen Laycock’s poetry collection Frame has featured as Book of the Month at the East Ridge Review.
Her poetry has been published by Black Bough, Broken Spine Arts, Folkheart Press, Prattlefog and Gravelrap, The Wombwell Rainbow, Poetry Roundabout, Spilling Cocoa Over Martin Amis, Onslaught, The Storms Journal, Popshot, Lucent Dreaming, Literary Revelations, Kobayaashi, Three Drops Press, The Caterpillar, The Dirigible Balloon,Fevers of the Mind & Visual Verse. Many of her poems can be purchased at https://www.facebook.com/pillarboxpoe....
She also writes humorous verse.
She has four websites:
Fiction in a Flash
https://helenlaycock.wixsite.com/fict...
Children's Author
https://helenlaycock.wixsite.com/hele...
Poetry
https://helenlaycock.wixsite.com/marb...
Tiny Tales
https://helenlaycock.wixsite.com/tiny...
All her books are available on Amazon:
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Helen-Laycoc...
US: https://www.amazon.com/Helen-Laycock/...
She can be followed on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/helenlaycock...
Twitter:
@helen_laycock
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 3, 2024
Helen Laylock's poetry book, “Elemental,” profoundly reminded me of how beautiful language can be. Her (generally) short poems reserve space for only the very best word choices to create truly stirring emotion and vivid imagery in her work.
She writes in a voice that is uniquely her own... playing with words to create some very clever non-words that made me smile every time I saw them.... "a silent spiderspin melody," or "chambers of tealpink light" or "shouts clamped in seafists." I love seeing the red squiggles under each non-word as I type this review, warning me of their non-reality... so cool.
And then there are some absolutely delicious lines that would make even the most jaded, palateless, non-poet shiver with joy... “cupping the stutter / of flame / when wind drags,” or “…brindled earth / strewn with / charred ropes / too brittle to hang / excuses.” I don’t want to give any more away – but there are SO many great lines throughout her book.
Laylock is a gifted poet in so many ways, incorporating well-placed literary devices that show her deep wellspring of craftful knowledge and skill. Please read this book. It is a collection of words, and lines, and moments that will stay with you long after you set her book down. Or re-read it three more times (like I did). Highly recommended.
She writes in a voice that is uniquely her own... playing with words to create some very clever non-words that made me smile every time I saw them.... "a silent spiderspin melody," or "chambers of tealpink light" or "shouts clamped in seafists." I love seeing the red squiggles under each non-word as I type this review, warning me of their non-reality... so cool.
And then there are some absolutely delicious lines that would make even the most jaded, palateless, non-poet shiver with joy... “cupping the stutter / of flame / when wind drags,” or “…brindled earth / strewn with / charred ropes / too brittle to hang / excuses.” I don’t want to give any more away – but there are SO many great lines throughout her book.
Laylock is a gifted poet in so many ways, incorporating well-placed literary devices that show her deep wellspring of craftful knowledge and skill. Please read this book. It is a collection of words, and lines, and moments that will stay with you long after you set her book down. Or re-read it three more times (like I did). Highly recommended.
June 26, 2024
Beautifully written slim volume of poetry
Some writing takes your breath away. And that’s how I felt as I read and reread the stories within. Some of my favorites are “Conflagration” with the stunning ending “… is brindled earth strewn with charred ropes too brittle to hang excuses.” And “ Hare.” And “Communion,” which is about an old growth pine that is felled.
The writing is as evocative as it is beautiful, and the layout on the page is another master stroke. I highly recommend this wonderful piece of art.
Some writing takes your breath away. And that’s how I felt as I read and reread the stories within. Some of my favorites are “Conflagration” with the stunning ending “… is brindled earth strewn with charred ropes too brittle to hang excuses.” And “ Hare.” And “Communion,” which is about an old growth pine that is felled.
The writing is as evocative as it is beautiful, and the layout on the page is another master stroke. I highly recommend this wonderful piece of art.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews