Launch Report: 'Phobia' by Jo Brandon

Friday 20th January 2012, The Carriageworks, Leeds, UK

Host James Nash looks on during an exciting bit of poetry from Jo.

The relationship between Valley Press and dynamic young writer Jo Brandon - one for the ages, hopefully! - began on the 1st May 2011, when I happened across a short biography of her online and noticed she was 'currently working on a debut pamphlet', so sent an exploratory email to see if we could do something about that.  I was sending a lot of these emails at this point, and although some recieved positive replies, it was only Jo (and Jo's work) that inspired enough enthusiasm on both ends to see a publishing project through to completion - and the date of this completion was the 20th January 2012, when Phobia was launched in style at The Carriageworks theatre in Leeds.

Though according to the Poetry Society guidelines, we should call Phobia a 'pamphlet', that is something of a hotly disputed issue in the Valley Press offices - it is a book, and it is a collection of poetry, with only ten pages less than many of our previous publications, about which there was no confusion.  People ordering Phobia expecting a standard pamphlet, hastily stapled by the publisher the night before, will be in for a nice surprise, if I say so myself!  I've taken to calling it a 'pamphlet length collection', and I'd encourage you to do the same.

Jo hard at work signing - that's me in the background.

This was our first launch at The Carriageworks, and I was very impressed by the facilities provided - I suspect they could have been even better if I'd got the technical people on side earlier in the week!  Our host of choice ten times out of ten, Mr. James Nash, was on top form, and Jo told the full story about many of the poems, giving a lot of facts that were totally new to me - though the poem 'Gamophobia' is about cooking, the word actually means fear of marriage, hence the last line: 'see what harm can be done when you heat the ring.'  I must admit, this was also the first time I've seen Jo perform her work live, and I was not disappointed - I've see few people read with more confidence, animation and passion.  Often with young writers (particularly myself!) it's neccessary to talk in terms of 'promise', or 'this is one to watch' - but I really think Jo has got the whole package already.  She should take the poetry world by storm, and of course it's now partly my responsibility to see that through...

You can see a full set of photos from the launch at this link, all taken by the media mastermind that is Marcos Avlonitis.  If you're a regular visitor to the VP site, this name will not be unfamiliar to you - he also did the post-production work on the cover image which graces Phobia, which if you're wondering is an 'icon', probably of Mary, who is mentioned in one of the poems featured on the Phobia page.  I think it's time to admit this is the same Marcos who is credited in the acknowledgements - he's Jo's partner, but what a guy, and what a team they make!  He even set up a sound desk upon our arrival, and has recorded the whole gig; this will hopefully be appearing on the blog in due course, though as the man is a perfectionist this will be after he has removed any trace of noise from the air conditioning vent.  I pointed out to Marcos during the evening that, in the age of media, the man with the top camera, recording equipment and skills to use them is pretty much king - I think he agreed.

I'd like to formally thank everyone who came out to see Jo and James - there was a fantastic atmosphere of encouragement and support, and more than a couple of attendees from Leeds literary royalty, which is always great to see.  Blog readers can still grab the book, signed and otherwise, from the VP site here - you might also like to read about 'Valley Press Fest', which Jo attended the following day, in the report here.  Hope to see you at the next launch!