On Calico Wings

£1 from the sale of this book goes to the horticultural therapy charity Gardening Leave

Jan Hedger's new collection, a journey through poetry, emphasises the myriad of emotion that life brings: past and present, from love, loss, to emotion in war, in dreams and hope. The sea, always an inspiration to Jan, features in many of the poems, reflecting in its moods and our emotions.

You can see inside this book and read sample pages using BookBuzzr, courtesy of fReado.com.

Jan Hedger first started writing poetry nine years ago in her hometown of Birmingham; returning there after many years living away in Berkshire, Sussex and the North East of Scotland. Leaving Birmingham for Wiltshire, her poetry continued to flourish and develop whilst working at Swindon College, where she received a great deal of inspiration and encouragement. It was in this period where she gained an A* English GCSE at the mature age of 46!

Jan's love of life and her interest in a wide range of subjects is reflected in her poetry. She has had sixteen poems previously published in anthologies and regularly performs her work. Jan believes poetry should be accessible to everyone. Her first book Words in Imagination was published in 2008.

Jan now lives in Bexhill on Sea, East Sussex, with her husband Nigel.

For further information about the poet and her work please visit janscreativewriting.co.uk

You can also read an interview with Jan at Contrary Life

Jan Hedger is a truly talented artist who has an amazing gift to use words for painting vivid pictures on the heart. Works of art that will inspire, challenge and provoke not only contemplation but the full spectrum of human emotions. 'On Calico Wings' is a gentle undulating journey through Jan's poetry; from the charming innocence of 'Seashell' through the deep sadness of 'Innocent Grief' and on to the haunting 'Absolution', with her descriptive prose, mixture of styles and clever, often subtle, word play she invokes tears of grief and joy before the journey's end yet leaves the reader hungry for more.
– BJ Lewis, Poet

'When Jan invited me to review 'On Calico Wings', I was delighted: Jan Hedger has a real gift for visual imagery and putting the reader in place of the poet. The book is beautifully crafted and well written and is full of humanity and emotion. The book takes you on a spiritual journey of highs and lows and reveals something of the poet's life, emotions which everyone has experienced and somehow Jan puts it all into perspective.

The book is divided into several sections, the first being 'Calico', which is my favourite poem of all in this section. 'Calico' is an amazing poem and everything is perfect. Close your eyes and you have feel the waves moving and is a wonderfully scripted journey of love with repetition of the name Calico like the waves webbing and then flowing – quite brilliant. You can feel the tide of Calico's life repeated in the ebb and flow of her name.

'Wedding Dress Shopping' is another masterful poem and the two lines at the end sum up everything very well:
"Eyes meet in a moment of clarity,
This is the one."

Jan has summed up what most of us believe when we choose our special dress so well.

Of course, no Jan Hedger book would be complete without some of the touching poems of forces poetry, a site for the armed forces to publish their work. In this section 'Shot at Dawn' stands out. If there is one poem I would urge someone to read from this section a least once, preferably more, it is 'Too Young'. This poem actually made me cry, it is so poignant: how many boys were put in such a position? It speaks volumes to and I hope it does to you.

With this book, Jan has reached the top in the art of writing poetry: 'On Calico Wings' is not old-fashioned, but has more humanity and emotion in it than I have ever felt. It is a triumph: a book to make you laugh, cry, feel sad and elated, happy, but most of all I hope it makes people think.

I have always been a fan of Jan's writing and when you have read this anthology, I know you will be too.'
– Bobbie Coelho, Andover, 2nd January 2010