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Potters' Yard Arts, made up of artist-writer duo Liz Mathews and Frances Bingham, create handmade artist's books, pottery, poetry and more in Gabriel's Wharf. This summer, Potters' Yard Arts have released a new poetry collection via their publication The Pottery Press.
'Innerseas' brings Icelandic poet Ferdinand Jónsson’s poetry to English readers for the first time, in poems that hymn wildness and wilderness, our human place in the landscape and the landscapes within our psyche.
The Pottery Press books often explore connections between word and image; the word 'translated' into material form. 'Innerseas' includes colour prints of Liz Mathews' artist's books setting some of the poems, with the words in both languages. The poems are also printed in Icelandic as well as English, exploring the resonances and reflections between the two ancient languages.
We spoke to Ferdinand Jónsson to find out more about 'Innerseas':
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your poetry
I am an Icelandic Consultant Psychiatrist working in the NHS, and I have lived in London for 28 years. I have been writing poetry since my late teen years. I started to love poetry as I found, to my astonishment, that some of the poets where thinking similar things to me. I find it to be a great way of expressing feelings, longings and also a great way to connect to my language, nature, oneself and others.
Tell us a bit more about ‘Innerseas’ - what can people expect?
'Innerseas' was originally published in Iceland in 2013. This is me as a younger person, coming to terms with transitions and a way of coping far from home. I was thinking of my family and feelings, and it was better to express them this way. It's also possible that they became more real in this way? It has been rewarding for me that some people at home have connected to some of these poems.
Why have you chosen ‘Innerseas’ to bring your poetry to English readers for the first time?
This book had been translated some years ago; the Irish poets Kate and Joan Newmann and Annie Turner had helped me after the publication of this book. I found it challenging to translate, but the people I worked with in the Bethnal Green Neighbourhood mental health team wanted to hear them. Liz Mathews and Frances Bingham, at The Pottery Press, put a lot of work into this and they helped me to get all of them into a form that I was happy with, and remarkably close to the original poems. It's impressive for me to see the connection between these two old languages.
What inspired you to start writing poetry?
Like so many people, having difficulties expressing feelings, the emotional turmoil of our life, but also a love for this form of art. It makes it possible to connect to myself and others. I find poetry to be very helpful in understanding emotions and the world better. Not surprisingly, some of my patients are wonderful poets; they are most kind to read some of their work to me from time to time and that is really special.
To buy your copy of 'Innerseas' for just £12, visit Potters' Yards Arts in Gabriel's Wharf or The Pottery Press website: