New Book of Poetry: Joseph Ridgwell VICTORIA (2023) Wallingford Press, 44 pages

Victoria is a slim book of pandemic-era love poems from English writer Joe Ridgwell. It is a handmade, limited edition of 33 copies. It is edited, designed, printed and bound by Mike Mahoney. Art by Bri Barton.

In the prelude to Victoria, Joseph Ridgwell writes, "So here I am. It’s 2023 and I’m 50 years of age. And yet I’ve never grown up and people say I look younger than ever. Of course they could be lying. Whatever. All I know is that many years ago I decided to fictionalise my entire life. And that’s just what I’ve done. And what is real and what isn’t real? There’s probably more truth in what I’ve written than anyone will ever realise. I really did all these things. And now to Victoria, can you fall in love at 50? Of course you can and I did. And this little book of poetry is testament to that. Victoria has brown hair and brown eyes and a light brown stare."

Asked about the backstory to the book Ridgwell says, "It's a bizarre story George. I'd been seeing Victoria (not her real name) on a casual basis for a few years. Nothing serious. Then, last xmas, my mum handed me a box of letters, handwritten ones, dating back from 1985 right up to 1997, the year the internet and email  came into mainstream use. The letters stop at 1997. 

"There were a bunch of letters from my first love - Victoria! Her posh parents had banned her from seeing me, a they thought I was a bad influence (i.e not good enough for their middle-class daughter) Anyway, I made the mistake of reading one where Victoria declares her undying love for me and even threatens to kill herself if I ever leave her. Pure teenage angst. She was 17, I was 18.

"And then boom, I fell head over heels in love with Victoria. But did I??? The shrinks would have a field day, I’d be a test case. Now, looking back I don’t think I did fall in love with Victoria, but some long repressed feelings from over 30 years ago were suddenly unleashed after I read the letter, and I transferred those feelings over to Victoria. (Never told 'Victoria' about the letter btw).

"The feelings lasted around a year, and were acute, I lost a stone and half in weight (love sick) but the feelings then suddenly disappeared. I stopped seeing Victoria, and started seeing someone else. 

"So, is that the end of the story, I’m not sure. Only time will tell."

Here is a selection from the book of 26 poems posted with the permission of the poet:

Gates Of Hell

 

Love is real

Love is a sickness 

You can go crazy for a while

Start doing things you wouldn’t normally do

Act out of character

Get a little paranoid

Love is real alright

And most people don’t know what love is

Because they’ve never been in love

In fact when I think about it

Love is fifty thousand bats rushing blindly from the gates of hell

And headed straight for you.

Witchcraft

 

I’ve got it bad

All the classic symptoms

Loss of appetite

Insomnia

Obsessive thought patterns

It’s a wonder how they do it

The female

But they can

And that’s where their

Real power lies

Not in feminist emancipation

Or girl empowerment

But in good old-fashioned

And deadly 

Witchcraft.

Love In The Morning

 

No time to lose

Strip clothes

And leap into bed

And then lying together

Kissing in the shadows

Your tongue my tongue

Your legs entwined with mine

Our hearts beating madly.

Joseph Ridgwell

 

 

Joseph Ridgwell is a working class author who was raised on a council estate in East London. After leaving school Ridgwell worked a series of menial jobs. He has worked as a butchers boy, apprentice upholsterer, tile warehouseman, common labourer, toy salesman, carpet salesman, hospital porter, peanut vendor, telesales, and various call centres. At nineteen he was stabbed in a bar brawl and decided to leave the UK, travel the world and learn how to write. Ridgwell has lived in Cuba, Mexico, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Belize and finally Thailand where he ran a bar. Since 2011 Ridgwell has resided in Scotland.

 

In 2023 Ridgwell was long-listed for the Moniack Mhor International Writers Residency.

 

In 2021 Ridgwell was the recipient of a Royal Literary Society grant for Literary Merit.

 

In 2021 Ridgwell was the recipient of a Creative Scotland Arts Grant to write his latest novel - The Island.

 

A collection of poetry - She Moves Through the Fair - was published by Kilmog Press in 2020

 

Ridgwell Stories - published in June 2015 by New York’s Bottle of Smoke Press - was nominated for a 2016 Pushcart Prize and long-listed for the 2016 Saboteur awards.

 

Ridgwell’s work has also appeared in numerous anthologies. Chiron Review, Abridged, Hanzir, Dwang, Tra Ver Sees, Push, Paper & Ink, Gustave, The Dawntreader, The Arsonist etc…

 

 

                        Also by Joseph Ridgwell

 

Where are the Rebels (2008)

Load the Guns(2009)

Last Days of the Cross(2009)

Lost Elation (2010)

Oswald’s Apartment(2010)

Indonesia(2011)

The Buddha Bar(2011)

The Tsanta Expedition(2011)

Fire Island(2012)

The Famous Ice-Cream Run (2013)

A Child of the Jago (2013)

Cuba (2014)

Ridgwell - Stories (2015)

Burrito Deluxe(2015)

Jamaica(2016)

Mexico (2017)

The Beach Poems (2018)

The Cross (2018)

L’Exaltation Perdue (2019)

Ibiza (2019)

Wolf Star (2019)

She Moves Through the Fair (2020)

The Heist & Other Tales (2021)

 

Buy the book here: https://www.wallingfordpressbooks.com/product-page/victoria-by-joseph-ridgwell