After many years of writing, a few magazine submissions and many rejection slips from publishers, Layer Cake was my first book. I was inspired and encouraged to self-publish this collection after talking to famous Welsh writer, John Evans. I also attended several of his excellent creative writing classes that taught me so much about the art of good poetry.
This first book is a poetry collection that spanned 24 years. Published in March 2009 by Ponty Press the book was well received, sold over 200 copies and earned great praise by John Evans and many other well-respected writers.
‘His poetry is honest and direct. Each word is effective. Each word is easily understood. Unlike so many others today, he writes from the heart and soul, from raw emotion; he has drawn on his wide-ranging knowledge and experience to evolve a style, an elevated poetic diction, which eschews artifice and ornate language. To do otherwise, to court obscurity, to write for just a small coterie, would be for him to miss the mark. Dave Lewis’ poetry is for everyone, not just the metropolitan intelligentsia, or Arts Council elite, or pseudo-University academics.’ – John Evans
The original imprint can be purchased as a paperback direct from the author for just £4.99 (free postage). Limited copies left.
The latest version as a paperback or e-book from Amazon.
Sample poems:
Miners Dog
High home summer hill
Straining, sucking, sitting
Staring, stopped and stick-
A pit-prop tight and gripped.
The trees across the valley
Much higher than he can go now.
I pant to reassure him
In time with his withered eyes.
His tongue, tombed gritty green
He’s faithful, though he’s fading
Bones in death-grey jumper
Where will he lead me next?
Tenerife Club Singer
Alone at the bar
Two packs of cigarettes
Are stacked like long lost friends
The club singer sits alone
Constant in his loneliness
As transit tourists chat
For two weeks at a time
His world, their world, complete
Alone he sits and smokes
Smokes himself to death
Only home for the NHS
Bald ‘neath his cowboy hat
Human Nature
“Hey man!”
grated the Californian
“You left your Howl behind”
“Wow!”
“Did you hear that?” said Paulie
“Only in this city man,
and leave it to me,
I’ll get the man to sign it yeh,
and if you don’t hear from me
let me know and ask
me to send the fuckin’ book”
I left my friend a note.
My best friend in half an hour.
“Send me the fuckin’ book man!”
I wrote.
He laughed.
Now I wait in the rain in a land devoid
of oranges
for the postman.
Afternoon Shift
The lino shiny dead
cramped crocodile
choked hand
bread and dripping
at the cupboard towers
arthritic apron
dogs at feet
her petal splits
cuts like crusts
she knows you know
sliced chestnut
men at work
the knock on wood
saltwater drips on fur
Reviews:
‘Dave Lewis is a poet, teacher, zoologist, web designer, global traveller, husband, father, newspaper columnist, and so many other things. He is a 21st Century Renaissance Man; a genuine multi-tasker; a man whose life history and work reflects and documents so many of the changes that affect us all today. His poetry is honest and direct. Each word is effective. Each word is easily understood. Unlike so many others today, he writes from the heart and soul, from raw emotion; he has drawn on his wide-ranging knowledge and experience to evolve a style, an elevated poetic diction, which eschews artifice and ornate language. To do otherwise, to court obscurity, to write for just a small coterie, would be for him to miss the mark. Dave Lewis’ poetry is for everyone, not just the metropolitan intelligentsia, or Arts Council elite, or pseudo-University academics. Although a true son of his native South Wales Valleys, his work moves from the local to the national, to the international; he aspires to a universal discourse, beyond the here and now, and beyond class, localness, or country. His subject matter is both urban and naturalistic and reflects not only a love of towns and cities but also his awareness and passion for the wild landscapes that lie beyond – from the wet streets of his home town, Pontypridd, and the sunlit switchbacks of San Francisco, to the lush, green, Breconshire mountains, and the dry, arid, deserts of Kenya. This excellent collection of Dave Lewis’ work is highly recommended and it should help establish poetry to its rightful place as a vital form of artistic expression for everyone.’ – John Evans
‘It’s not often that a collection of poems inspires and uplifts you. It’s something that happens as rarely as a good British summer, in fact. But Layer Cake by Dave Lewis is just as unusual and welcome. In the stuffy world that poetry can be, this collection really is a breath of fresh air. This collection of unique and different poems comes from the heart, with subjects as diverse as Boats and Stevie Nicks! Each poem reads like a story and conjures an image in your mind, from the highly sensual evocations in Grinding Down to the succinct and to-the-point Portrait of Churchill. Dave Lewis is obviously well-travelled and his poems Africa and Kenya take you to these places without having to endure Gatwick! But closer to home, Dave also creates poignant images of his home country with well-crafted gems like Pen-y-Fan and Y Bont. All in all, this is an interesting and entertaining collection which is well worth reading.’ – Amanda Weeks
‘This is a magical little book which shows us there are still great poets living in Wales. Layer Cake is honest and moving, yet simply written and easy to understand. A writer who has the ability to create heart-wrenching images of everyday life with the minimum of fuss.’ – Amazon Customer
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